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-      LIBRARY 

PREDEHICK  DOUGLAoS  LZjllTm 
OF  NEGRO  ARTS  AND  HISTORY 


The  Museum  of  African  Art 
316  A  St.,  N,E.,  Washington,  D.C 


^crt^t/i^  AytA^iJUiL^ 


115 


LIBRABY 

MUSEUM  OF  AFRICAN  ART 
318-A  STREET,  NORTHZAS? 
WASHINGTON,  D.C.    20G02 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS 


THE  ORATOR./ 

CONTAINING 

AN    ACCOUNT    OF  HIS    LIFE;    HIS    EMINENT    PUBLIC 

SERVICES;    HIS    BRILLIANT    CAREER    AS 

ORATOR;    SELECTIONS    FROM   HIS 

SPEECHES   AND   WRITINGS. 

BY 

JAMES  M.  GREGORY,  A.  M., 

Professor  of  the  Latin  Language  and  Literature, 
Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 


WITH    AN     introduction    BY 

W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH,  A.  M., 

Professor  New  Testament,  Greek  and  Literature, 

Payne  Theological  Seminary, 

Wilberforce,  '  Ohio. 


ILIvUSTRA 


■;-v«<* 


SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.  : 

WILIvKY    COIMRANY. 


i3?S     - 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  vear  1893, 

By  JAMES  M.  GREGORY,  A.  M., 

In  the  Office  of  the   Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


SPRINGFIELD    PRINTING    AND    BINDING    COMPANY, 

ELECTROTYPERS,    PRINTERS   AND    BINDERS, 

SPRINGFIELD,    MASS. 


\Vh 


..^^L-^*--*^/  i    I  h  ^ 


t^cu^^<^  '»■  H  "^ 


TO  THE   STUDENTS 

WHO  HAVE  PASSED  UNDER   MY   INSTRUCTION   DURING 
THE  LAST  TWENTY  YEARS 

THIS   BIOGRAPHY 

OF 

AN  EMINENT  ORATOR  AND  A  CHAMPION  OF 
HUMAN  FREEDOM 

IS    AFFECTIONATELY   INSCRIBED. 


yst 


W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH. 


INTRODUCTION. 


When  it  was  announced  that  Professor  James 
M.  Gregory  of  Howard  University  would  edit  a 
volume  bearing  upon  some  phase  of  the  remark- 
able career  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of 
our  times,  the  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass,  all  be- 
came expectant,  and  felt  that  a  worthier  chronicler 
of  a  worthier  sire  would  be  difficult  to  find. 

Both  the  writer  of  this  volume  and  his  hero 
as  well  are  eminent  citizens  in  their  respective 
spheres,  and  will  doubtless  receive  the  respectful 
attention  they  merit — the  former  as  a  representa- 
tive of  the  younger  generation,  and  hence  the 
product  of  the  new  dispensation;  the  latter,  of  the 
older  generation,  but  the  product  of  two  dispensa- 
tions, the  old  and  the  new. 

Professor  James  M.  Gregory  by  education  and 
by  training  is  in  a  high  degree  qualified  for  the 
task  he  has  undertaken.  Having  passed  through 
the  Cleveland  (O.)  city  schools,  he  became  a  stu- 
dent of  Oberlin  College,  and  then  a  graduate  of 
Howard  University,  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he 
took  high  honors. 

Immediately  upon  graduation  he  was  made 
tutor  of  mathematics  in  the  preparatory  depart- 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

ment  of  his  alma  mater.  After  four  years  as 
instructor  here  he  \vas  made  professor  of  Latin  in 
the  college  department,  and  was  for  two  successive 
years  dean  of  that  department.  He  was  also  in- 
structor of  political  economy  and  general  history. 

Professor  Gregory  is  a  forcible  writer,  a  fluent 
speaker,  and  an  acceptable  orator.  Aside  from 
this  he  is  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  great 
executive  ability.  As  an  educator  he  ranks  among 
the  first  and  easily  holds  his  own.  He  was  the 
first  executive  ofiicer  of  the  American  Associa- 
tion of  Educators  of  Colored  Youth,  organized 
under  the  auspices  of  the  alumni  of  Howard  Uni- 
versity, and  has  since  been  annually  re-elected  to 
that  important  office.  This  in  itself  is  conclusive 
proof  of  his  eminent  fitness  for  the  position  he 
holds. 

He  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Washington  city  public  schools  for 
six  years,  and  during  that  time  was  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  teachers.  Here  as  in  other 
positions  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  efficient 
service  and  strict  integrity. 

The  hero  of  this  volume  is  too  well  known  for 
even  a  reference  from  me,  but  a  few  observations 
will  not  be  out  of  keeping  with  the  plan  and  scope 
of  this  work.  Without  exception,  the  most  cele- 
brated negro  now  living  is  the  Hon.  Frederick 
Douglass.      Born  in  the  lap  of  slavery  and  reared 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

by  slavery's  fireside  at  least  until  he  succeeded  in 
making  his  escape  from  bondage,  Mr.  Douglass 
has  demonstrated  beyond  contradiction  the  possi- 
bilities of  his  race  even  against  the  most  fearful 
odds.  There  are  other  prominent  colored  men  in 
America — doctors,  lawyers,  theologians,  orators, 
statesmen,  .nd  scholars — but  none  of  them  from 
a  national  standpoint  has  attained  the  celebrity 
or  the  prestige  of  the  "  Sage  of  Anacostia."  The 
pious  Mrs.  Auld,  when  she  was  "  learning  Fred 
how  to  read,"  little  suspected  that  she,  in  reality, 
was  shaping  the  future  of  him  (though  then  a 
slave  and  a  member  of  one  of  the  despised  races) 
who  in  time  was  destined  to  become  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  his  generation.  Thus 
it  was. 

Mr.  Douglass  himself  tells  us,  in  his  autobiog- 
raphy, that  he  made  such  rapid  progress  in  master- 
ing the  alphabet  and  in  spelling  words  of  three 
and  four  syllables,  that  his  old  master  forbade  his 
wife  to  teach  him,  declaring  that  learning  would 
spoil  the  best  "  nigger  "  in  the  world,  as  it  forever 
unfits  him  to  be  a  slave.  He  added  that  he 
should  know  nothing  but  the  will  of  his  master, 
and  should  learn  to  obey  it.  As  to  Fred,  learn- 
ing will  do  him  no  good,  but  a  great  deal  of  harm, 
making  him  disconsolate  and  unhappy.  If  you 
teach  him  how  to  read,  he  will  want  to  know  how 
to  write,  and  this  accomplished  he  will  be  run- 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

ning  away  with  himself.  Such  in  substance  was 
his  old  master's  opinion,  and  that  it  was  a  true 
prediction  the  life  and  career  of  Mr.  Douglass, 
which  have  been  fully  told  elsewhere,  are  a  suffi- 
cient proof. 

Mr.  Douglass's  superior  ability  as  an  orator  and 
as  a  writer  was  early  recognized  by  the  friends 
of  the  race,  and  from  that  day  to  this  his  services 
in  behalf  of  his  people  have  ever  been  in  demand. 
On  the  other  hand  he  has  been  ready  to  sacrifice 
his  own  best  interests  for  his  race,  and  he  has 
not  failed  to  make  the  sacrifice.  He  is  a  brilliant 
orator,  a  fluent  talker,  and  an  interesting  conver- 
sationalist. He  has  an  excellent  memory,  and 
can  recall  dates  and  facts  of  history  with  perfect 
ease.  A  day  in  his  society  is  a  rare  treat,  a  privi- 
lege that  might  well  be  coveted  by  America's 
greatest  citizens.  The  greatness  of  the  man  and 
the  inspiration  that  comes  from  every  word  that 
he  utters,  make  one  wonder  how  it  was  possible 
for  such  a  remarkable  character  to  have  ever  been 
a  slave  ;  and,  further,  how  even  now  it  is  possible 
for  any  discourtesies  to  be  shown  him  because  of 
his  color.  It  is  nevertheless  true,  however,  that 
this  distinguished  American  citizen  must  suffer 
with  the  rest  of  his  fellows  and  share  like  indig- 
nities— and  all  because  of  his  race. 

Socrates  used  to  say  that  all  men  are  suffi- 
ciently eloquent  in  that  which  they  understand. 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

Cicero  says  that,  though  this  is  plausible,  it  is  not 
strictly  true.  He  adds  that  no  man  can  be  elo- 
quent even  if  he  understands  the  subject  ever  so 
well  but  is  ignorant  how  to  form  and  to  polish  his 
speech.  We  take  these  views  for  what  they  are 
worth,  but  venture  to  add  that  eloquence  is  a  spon- 
taneous outburst  of  the  humait  soul. 

The  cause  of  the  oppressed  could  not  have 
found  a  more  eloquent  defender  than  Mr.  Doug- 
lass. Himself  oppressed  and  denied  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  a  freeman,  he  felt  what  he  said 
and  said  what  he  felt.  The  negro's  cause  was  his 
cause,  and  his  cause  was  the  negro's  cause.  In 
defending  his  people  he  was  defending  himself. 
It  was  here  that  the  brilliancy  of  his  oratorical 
powers  was  most  manifest.  It  was  here  that  he 
was  most  profoundly  eloquent. 

Themistocles,  Pericles,  and  Demosthenes  may 
be  said  to  represent  the  three  ages  of  Greek 
eloquence.  Themistocles  was  undoubtedly  the 
greatest  orator  of  Athens  before  the  time  of  Per- 
icles. "  His  eloquence  was  characterized,"  says 
Cicero,  "  by  precision  and  simplicity,  penetrating 
acuteness,  rapidity,  and  fertility  of  thought." 

Pericles  was  a  finished  orator,  the  most  perfect 
type  of  his  school,  and  was  regarded  by  Cicero  as 
the  best  specimen  of  the  oratorical  art  of  Athens 
— eloquentissinius  A thenis  Pericles,  But  the  third 
representative  was  one  whose  oratorical  greatness 


lO  INTRODUCTION. 

seemed  destined  to  remain  forever  uneclipsed. 
In  Demosthenes  political  eloquence  in  Greece 
culminated.  He  was  without  doubt  the  greatest 
of  all  Athenian  orators,  and,  to  use  the  language 
of  Longinus,  "  his  eloquence  was  like  a  terrible 
sweep  of  a  vast  body  of  cavalry."  It  mowed 
down  everything  before  it. 

Certainly  a  noble  ambition,  if,  as  we  learn  else- 
where, the  sole  purposes  for  which  he  labored 
were  to  animate  a  people  renowned  for  justice, 
humanity,  and  valor;  to  warn  them  of  the  dangers 
of  luxur}^  treachery,  and  bribery,  of  the  ambition 
and  perfidy  of  a  powerful  foreign  enemy;  to  recall 
the  glory  of  their  ancestors,  to  inspire  them  with 
resolution,  vigor,  and  unanimity,  to  correct  abuses, 
to  restore  discipline,  to  revive  and  restore  the 
generous  sentiments  of  patriotism  and  public 
spirit.  Laudable  as  was  this  ambition,  it  was  no 
more  laudable  than  that  which  actuated  Frederick 
Douglass  during  all  the  years  of  his  active  life. 

The  scathing  invectives  and  fiery  eloquence  of 
Mr.  Douglass  were  the  inevitable  outcome  of  a 
soul  lono-ins:  for  freedom  in  all  that  the  term 
implies,  not  only  for  himself  but  for  an  oppressed 
race.  His  sole  purpose  was  to  stir  the  hearts  of 
the  American  people  against  the  system  of  slav- 
ery and  color  prejudice ;  to  touch  the  philan- 
thropic chord  of  the  nation  so  as  to  induce  it  to 
recognize  the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  father- 


INTRODUCTION.  I  I 

hood  of  God.  A  tremendous  task  was  his,  but 
he  never  gave  up  the  struggle.  Day  and  night 
he  pleaded  for  freedom,  for  citizenship,  for  equal- 
ity of  rights,  for  justice,  for  humanity.  Could  a 
higher  sentiment  of  philanthropy  and  patriotism 
pervade  a  human  soul  than  this  ? 

Lincoln,  Grant,  Sumner,  Morton,  Phillips,  Gar- 
rison, Garfield,  Blaine,  Wilson,  Conkling,  Wade, 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  Chase,  and  other  advocates  of 
freedom  have  all  passed  away,  but  they  have  left 
behind  them  influences  that  survive.  The  echoes 
of  their  words  in  senate  chambers  and  public 
halls  will  resound  throughout  all  ages ;  their 
heroic  lives  and  their  philanthropic  deeds  will 
live  when  time  shall  have  passed  into  eternity. 
These,  however,  were  of  Anglo-Saxon  extraction. 
On  the  other  side  stands  one  of  African  extrac- 
tion, to  some  extent  their  co-laborer,  the  hero  of 
this  volume.  In  point  of  ability  and  all  the  vir- 
tues that  go  to  make  up  a  well  rounded  citizen- 
ship Mr.  Douglass  compares  well  with  them  all — 
the  only  difference  being  that  they  represent 
white  American  and  he  black  America. 

This  grand  old  patriot  will  always  live  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen  as  one  of  the  greatest 
of  America's  noblemen.  His  hard-fought  battles 
and  victories  won  will  prove  an  incentive  to  gen- 
erations yet  to  come.  His  virtuous  life  and 
noble    deeds  will    always   remain  to  warn  us  to 


1 2  INTRODUCTION. 

bestir  ourselves  in  the  interest  of  manhood  rights, 
in  the  interest  of  justice  to  all  men  regardless  of 
color  or  nationality. 

W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH. 

WiLBERFORCE,  O.,  April  i8,  1893. 


Manual  Training-  and  Industrial  School  for  Colored  Youth, 
Ironsides,   Bordentown,   N.   J. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FOURTH  EDITION. 


The  first  thirteen  chapters  of  this  book  were 
written  while  Mr.  Douglass  was  living,  and  pub- 
lished in  1893.  The  last  chapter  was  added  after 
his  death  in  1895,  at  which  time  a  second  edition 
was  issued,  and  afterwards  a  third. 

It  is  gratifying  to  the  author  that  the  work 
has  found  favor  with  the  public,  and  that  there  is 
an  increasing  desire  on  the  part  of  the  youth  to 
know  more  of  this  remarkable  man.  In  many  of 
the  public  schools  for  colored  children  the  birth- 
day of  Frederick  Douglass,  February  9th,  is 
regularly  observed,  and  at  these  times  the  lessons 
from  his  life  are  impressed  upon  the  young.  It 
is  always  a  hopeful  sign  of  the  development  of  a 
people  when  the  young  men  and  women  find  in 
their  own  race  those  whose  characters  are 
worthy  of  study  and  of  imitation. 

Some  years  ago,  in  Washington,  Dr.  San- 
ders, president  of  Biddle  University,  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina,  remarked  to  the  writer  that  a 
young  man  came  to  him  to  rehearse  his  oration 
for  commencement.  He  noticed  that  all  the  ex- 
amples of  bravery  and  heroism  were  taken  from 


PREFACE. 

the  white  race  and  he  asked  him  why  he  had  not 
taken  some  of  his  models  from  his  own  race. 
The  student  rephed  that  he  did  not  know  of  any 
negro  in  history  possessing  these  quaHties  in  an 
unusual  degree.  The  Doctor  arose,  took  down  a 
book  from  a  shelf  in  his  library,  and  opened  to  the 
astonished  gaze  of  the  young  man  chapters 
headed  ''Toussaint  L'Ouverture"  and  ''Chris- 
pus  Attucks."  The  oration  was  rewritten,  and 
in  the  student  was  created  a  higher  conception 
of  courage  and  respect  for  members  of  his  own 
race  and  in  his  bosom  burned  a  new  flame  of 
pride  and  confidence  in  his  powers. 

In  further  attestation  of  the  place  Mr. 
Douglass  holds  in  the  affections  and  memory  of 
the  people,  his  old  home.  Cedar  Hill,  at  Anacos-'" 
tia,  District  of  Columbia,  by  act  of  Congress,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Frederick  Douglass  Histor- 
ical Association,  has  been  turned  into  a  perma- 
nent memorial.  Hither  will  come  the  people  in 
loving  remembrance  of  the  Great  Douglass  who 
did  so  much  to  break  the  chains  of  slavery  that 
bound  and  degraded  his  race,  and  who,  after  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  was  untiring  in  his  efforts 
to  secure  for  them  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  citizens. 

The  writer  was  engaged  as  instructor  and 
professor  in  Howard  University  from  1872  to 
1896,    and   has   been    principal   of   the    Alanual 


PREFACE. 

Training  and  Industrial  School  for  Colored 
Youth  at  Ironsides,  Bordentown,  New  Jersey, 
since  1897.  He  finds  here,  as  at  Howard,  the 
influence  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Douglass  continues 
to  impress  itself  upon  him  and  to  give  him 
inspiration  in  his  work  of  training  and  educat- 
ing the  young. 

JAMES  M.   GREGORY, 

Manual  Training  and  Industrial  School  for  Colored  Youth 
at  Ironsides,  Bordentown,  N.  J. 

May  15,  1907. 


PREFACE. 

It  has  seemed  to  the  author  that  a  volume 
which  should  give  the  important  incidents  in  the 
life  of  Frederick  Douglass,  and  which  should 
treat  of  him  as  orator  and  thinker,  would  find 
favor  with  the  public.  His  speeches  and  lectures 
have  been  carefully  examined,  and  the  best  selec- 
tions from  these  incorporated  in  the  biography. 

No  pretensions  are  made  to  the  discovery  of 
new  facts.  Where  practicable  Mr.  Douglass  is 
permitted  to  speak  in  his  own  language.  Most 
of  the  quoted  passages  are  from  that  inimitable 
autobiography,  "  The  Life  and  Times  of  Fred- 
erick Douglass,"  and  are  here  introduced  by  per- 
mission of  Mr.  Douglass,  and  the  publishers, 
Messrs.  De  Wolf,  Fiske  &  Co.  Such  other  pub- 
lications have  been  consulted  as  were  deemed 
necessary. 

The  main  purpose  of  this  book  is  one  of  useful- 
ness. If  it  shall  be  instrumental  in  leading  our 
youth  to  study  the  character  of  this  remarkable 
man  and  to  draw  from  it  lessons  that  will  uroe 
them  to  high  and  noble  effort,  the  time  and  labor 
spent  in  its  preparation  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 

J.  M.  G. 

Howard  University,  March  24,  1893. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE 

Birth  and  Early  Life. — Escape  from  Slavery,         17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Career  as  an   Anti-Slavery   Agitator. — First 

Visit  to  Great  Britain,     ....         28 

CHAPTER  III. 

Editor    of    the    "  North    Star." — Connection 

with  John  Brown, 32 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Second  Visit  to    England. — The   War   of   the 

Rebellion, 50 

CHAPTER  V. 

Continued  Literary  Efforts.  —  Freedmen's 
Bank.  —  Official  Career  in  Washing- 
ton.— Visit  to  His  Old  Maryland  Home,         54 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Banquet  in  Recognition  of  His  Public  Serv- 
ices.— The  Douglass  in  His  Hall,    .         .         61 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Visit  Abroad. — Return  Home  and  Reception. — 
Minister  Resident  and  Consul  General 
TO  Hayti,  .         .  .         .         71 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  VIII.  PAGE 

As  Orator  and  Writer, 89 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Extracts  from  His  Speeches  and  Lectures,     .         97 

CHAPTER  X. 

Extracts    from    His    Speeches    and    Lectures 

Continued,     .......       122 

CHAPTER  XL 

Extracts    from    His    Speeches    and    Lectures 

Concluded, 173 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Members  of  the  Douglass  Family,      .         ,         .       199 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

His  Home. — Personal   Traits  and   Character- 
istics,     ........       207 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Death    of    Frederick    Douglass    and    Funeral 

Services  at  Washington,  D.  C,  .         .       217 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Obsequies  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,    .         .         .         .       253 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Obituary  Tributes, 271-309 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PORTRAITS. 


Author's  Portrait. 

Frederick  Douglass  (as  a  5-oung  man). 

Frederick  Douglass  (as  an  old  man). 

Frederick  Douglass,  Jr. 

Charles  R.  Douglass.' 

Lewis  H.  Douglass. 

Mrs.  R.  D.  Sprague  (Daughter  of  Frederick  Douglass). 

John  Brown. 

James  A.  Garfield. 

U.  S.  Grant. 

John  M.  Harlan. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 

Hyppolite. 

Abraham  Lincoln. 

W.  S.  Scarborough. 

Charles  Sumner. 

Mrs.  Amy  Post. 

Robert  Gould  Shaw. 

I\L\YOR  F.  S.  Cunningham. 

VIEWS. 

Residence  of  Frederick    Douglass    (Cedar   Hill,  Ana- 
costia.  D.  C). 

Front  View. 

Side  View. 

"  Mr.  Douglass'  Den." 
The  Old  Post  House  (Headquarters  of  the  Underground 
Railroad). 

Cellar  in  the  Old  Post  House. 

Parlor  of  the  Old  Post  House. 
Frederick    Douglass'  Old    Post    Office   (where    the 
North  Star  was  printed). 
The  Douglass  Funeral. 

The  Line  of  March. 

The  Procession. 

In  Front  of  the  Church. 

Inside  the  Church. 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 


FREDERICK   DOUGLASS, 

THE   ORATOR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth  and  Early  Life. — Escape  from  Slavery. 

Among  the  great  men  America  has  produced 
whose  achievements  will  be  narrated  to  posterity 
and  remembered,  is  Frederick  Douglass.  His 
name  is  so  identified  with  the  anti-slavery  move- 
ment that  no  account  of  this  eventful  period  of 
our  national  existence  will  be  complete  in  which 
the  historian  neglects  to  tell  of  the  remarkable 
career  of  this  eminent  man,  and  to  assign  him 
that  place  which  the  services  he  has  rendered  his 
race  and  mankind  deserve. 

It  is  often  argued  that  great  crises  produce 
great  men,  and,  conversely,  great  men  bring  about 
great  crises,  but  it  will  be  found  difficult  to  estab- 
lish the  truth  of  either  of  these  propositions 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  other,  inasmuch  as  the 
forces  that  operate  and  co-operate  in  each  are 
factors  of  a  common  product.  Observation  shows 
that  when  the  exigencies  of  the  times  have  de- 
manded leaders,  those  were  chosen  whose  train- 
ing and  experience  fitted  them  for  the  particular 


1 8  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

emergency.  An  ancient  author  relates  that  when 
an  inhabitant  of  the  barren  island  Seriphus  in 
the  ^gean  sea,  to  which  the  Romans  banished 
their  criminals,  claimed  that  Themistocles  had 
acquired  distinction  not  through  his  own  glory 
but  through  that  of  his  native  Greece,  Themis- 
tocles replied  :  "  Neither,  by  Hercules,  if  I  had 
been  a  man  of  Seriphus,  should  I  ever  have  been 
eminent,  nor,  if  you  had  been  an  Athenian,  would 
you  ever  have  been  renowned." 

It  sometimes  happens  that  one  circumstance  or 
chain  of  circumstances  singles  out  a  man  from 
among  his  fellowmen  and  places  him  in  the  num- 
ber of  those  whose  fame  shall  endure  and  grow 
brighter  with  time.  Father  of  his  Country  is  the 
title  which  appropriately  belongs  to  Washington, 
because,  under  his  leadership,  success  crowned 
our  arms  in  the  war  for  independence.  The  fame 
of  John  Brown  is  made  secure  by  his  raid  upon 
Harper's  Ferry  and  his  subsequent  martyrdom. 
If  the  other  acts  of  President  Lincoln  be  forgot- 
ten, the  one  act  of  signing  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  will  insure  him  the  remembrance 
of  posterity.  Hero  of  Appomattox  is  the  desig- 
nation by  which  Grant  will  be  known  through  the 
ages.  The  name  of  Frederick  Douglass  will 
survive  as  the  fugitive  slave  who  became  one  of 
the  most  eloquent  orators  as  well  as  profound 
thinkers  of  his  time. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 9 

Frederick  Douglass  was  born  at  Tuckahoe,  in 
Talbot  county,  Maryland,  in  February,  1817. 
The  place  was  not  distinguished  either  for  the 
fertility  of  the  soil,  the  beauty  of  the  surround- 
ings, or  the  thrift  and  intelligence  of  its  inhabit- 
ants. His  mother  was  Harriet  Bailey.  Of  his 
father  he  has  no  knowledge.  He  lived  with  his 
grandmother  till  he  was  five  years  of  age,  and 
during  that  period  saw  his  mother  only  a  few 
times.  He  was  now  taken  to  the  home  planta- 
tion of  Colonel  Lloyd,  about  two  miles  from  his 
birthplace.  Here,  along  with  the  other  children, 
he  was  placed  in  the  care  of  Aunt  Katy,  whom 
Mr.  Douglass  describes  as  a  cruel  and  ill-natured 
person. 

At  the  age  of  ten  he  was  sent  to  Baltimore  to 
live  with  Mr.  Hugh  Auld,  whose  wife,  Mrs.  Sophia 
Auld,  was  his  first  teacher,  and  she  continued  her 
instructions  until  objection  was  made  to  it  by 
her  husband.  Frederick,  however,  found  other 
means  of  accomplishing  his  desire.  Having  pro- 
cured a  spelling  book  he  learned  to  read  through 
the  assistance  of  his  white  playmates  whom  he 
met  in  the  streets.  When  about  thirteen  years 
of  age  he  bought  a  book  entitled  the  "  Columbian 
Orator,"  with  money  earned  by  blacking  boots. 
The  speeches  of  Sheridan,  Lord  Chatham,  Will- 
iam Pitt,  and  Fox,  which  he  read  in  this  book, 
increased  his  information  and  supply  of  words,  en- 


20  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK   DOUGLASS. 

abling  him  to  give  expression  to  the  thoughts  that 
now  began  to  form  in  his  mind.  By  reading  and 
observation  he  was  led  at  this  early  age  to  under- 
stand something  of  the  wicked  system  of  slavery. 

About  this  time  he  became  acquainted  with  a 
pious  man  by  the  name  of  Lawson,  whom  he 
visited  at  his  home.  Father  Lawson  inspired 
him  in  his  search  for  knowledge  by  the  assurance, 
"  The  Lord  has  a  great  work  for  you  to  do,  and 
you  must  prepare  yourself  for  it."  It  was  soon 
after  his  acquaintance  with  this  good  man  that  he 
learned  to  write  by  copying  letters  with  chalk  on 
fences  and  pavements.  Left  in  charge  of  the 
house  he  wrote  upon  the  vacant  spaces  of  copy 
books  which  his  young  master  had  used  in  school. 
He  further  continued  his  studies,  seated  in  the 
kitchen  loft  late  at  night  when  the  other  inmates 
of  the  household  were  asleep,  in  transcribing 
from  the  Bible,  the  Methodist  hymn  book  and 
other  books,  a  barrel  head  serving  him  the  pur- 
pose of  a  table. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  former  owners  Frederick 
became  the  property  of  Mr.  Thomas  Auld,  who 
then  resided  at  St.  Michael's.  Here  he  was  cru- 
elly treated,  having  the  coarsest  food,  and  not 
enough  of  that  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  his  appe- 
tite. Several  difficulties  occurred  between  Mr. 
Auld  and  Frederick,  in  consequence  of  which  Mr. 
Auld    sent   him   to    Covey,   a  notorious  "negro- 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.        21 

breaker "  in  the  neighborhood,  for  discipline. 
He  had  not  been  long  with  Covey  before  he  was 
subjected  to  the  greatest  cruelty.  The  details  of 
one  difficulty  between  them  we  give  in  Mr.  Doug- 
lass' own  language,  as  it  serves  to  show  the  meth- 
ods pursued  in  "  breaking "  slaves,  and  at  the 
same  time  furnishes  an  example  of  his  powers  of 
narration,  for  which  he  is  especially  distinguished. 
"  Mr.  Covey  sent  me,  very  early  in  the  morning 
of  one  of  our  coldest  days  in  the  month  of  Janu- 
ary, to  the  woods,  to  get  a.  load  of  wood.  He 
gave  me  a  team  of  unbroken  oxen,  telling  me 
which  was  the  inside  ox,  and  which  the  off-hand 
one.  He  then  tied  the  end  of  a  large  rope  around 
the  horns  of  the  in-hand  ox,  and  gave  me  the 
other  end  of  it,  and  told  me,  if  the  oxen  started 
to  run,  that  I  must  hold  on  upon  the  rope.  I  had 
never  before  driven  oxen,  and  of  course  I  was 
very  awkward.  I,  however,  succeeded  in  getting 
to  the  edge  of  the  woods  with  little  difficulty,  but 
I  had  got  a  very  few  rods  into  the  woods,  when 
the  oxen  took  fright  and  started  full  tilt,  carrying 
the  cart  against  trees,  and  over  stumps,  in  the 
most  frightful  manner.  I  expected  every  moment 
that  my  brains  would  be  dashed  out  against  the 
trees.  After  running  thus  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, they  finally  upset  the  cart,  dashing  it  with 
great  force  against  a  tree,  and  threw  themselves 
into  a  dense  thicket.     How  I  escaped  death,  I  do 


^2  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

not  know.  There  I  was,  entirely  alone,  in  a  thick 
wood,  in  a  place  new  to  me.  My  cart  was  upset 
and  shattered,  my  oxen  were  entangled  among 
the  young  trees,  and  there  was  none  to  help  me. 
After  a  long  spell  of  effort,  I  succeeded  in  getting 
my  cart  righted,  my  oxen  disentangled,  and  again 
yoked  to  the  cart.  I  now  proceeded  with  my 
team  to  the  place  where  I  had,  the  day  before, 
been  chopping  wood,  and  loaded  my  cart  pretty 
heavily,  thinking  in  this  way  to  tame  my  oxen. 
I  then  proceeded  on  my  way  home.  I  had  now 
consumed  one-half  of  the  day.  I  got  out  of  the 
woods  safely,  and  now  felt  out  of  danger.  I 
stopped  my  oxen  to  open  the  wooden  gate  ;  and 
just  as  I  did  so,  before  I  could  get  hold  of  my 
ox-rope,  the  oxen  again  started,  rushed  through 
the  gate,  catching  it  between  the  wheel  and  the 
body  of  the  cart,  tearing  it  to  pieces,  and  coming 
within  a  few  inches  of  crushino^  me  ao^ainst  the 
gate-post.  Thus  twice,  in  one  short  day,  I  escaped 
death  by  the  merest  chance.  On  my  return,  I 
told  Mr.  Covey  what  had  happened,  and  how  it 
happened.  He  ordered  me  to  return  to  the  woods 
again  immediately.  I  did  so,  and  he  followed  on 
after  me.  Just  as  I  got  into  the  woods,  he  came 
up  and  told  me  to  stop  my  cart,  and  that  he 
would  teach  me  how  to  trifle  away  my  time,  and 
break  gates.  He  then  went  to  a  large  gum-tree, 
and    with  his    ax  cut  three  large    switches,  and, 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.        23 

after  trimming  them  up  neatly  with  his  pocket- 
knife,  he  ordered  me  to  take  off  my  clothes.  I 
made  him  no  answer,  but  stood  with  my  clothes 
on.  He  repeated  his  order.  I  still  made  him  no 
answer,  nor  did  I  move  to  strip  myself.  Upon 
this  he  rushed  at  me  with  the  fierceness  of  a 
tiger,  tore  off  my  clothes,  and  lashed  me  till  he 
had  worn  out  his  switches,  cutting  me  so  savagely 
as  to  leave  the  marks  visible  for  a  long  time  after. 
This  whipping  was  the  first  of  a  number  just  like 
it,  and  for  similar  offenses." 

After  the  affair  just  narrated,  Frederick's  suf- 
ferings were  increased,  and  he  was  driven  to  such 
desperation  by  the  treatment  of  Covey,  that  he 
determined  to  defend  himself.  In  the  next  en- 
counter which  they  had  Covey  was  handled  so 
roughly  by  the  young  man  that  he  never  again 
raised  his  hand  against  him.  This  conflict  with 
Covey  had  a  most  inspiring  effect  upon  the 
youth.  By  resistance  he  asserted  his  manhood, 
increased  his  own  self-respect,  and  confidence  in 
himself.  From  this  day  on  he  was  never  whipped 
while  in  slavery,  though  he  had  several  fights. 

Leaving  Covey  in  January,  1834,  Frederick 
went  to  live  with  Mr.  William  Freeland,  whom  he 
found  to  be  a  very  good  man.  He  for  more  than 
a  year  after  that  time  conducted  a  Sabbath- 
school,  where  he  taught  his  fellow  slaves  to  read. 
He  also  devoted  three  evenings  in  each  week  to  a 


24  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

similar  purpose.  While  at  Mr.  Freeland's  the 
following  year  he  made  up  his  mind  to  make  an 
attempt  to  secure  his  liberty.  He  consulted  with 
those  slaves  who  he  believed  would  be  willing  to 
co-operate  in  this  movement  with  him.  But  they 
had  in  mind  no  definite  place  to  which  they  could 
flee  and  enjoy  their  freedom.  Mr.  Douglass  has 
beautifully  and  graphically  described  the  thoughts 
that  passed  through  their  minds  at  the  time  they 
were  planning  to  run  away.  Here  is  what  he 
says :  "At  every  gate  through  which  we  had  to 
pass  we  saw  a  watchman ;  at  every  ferry  a  guard ; 
on  every  bridge  a  sentinel,  and  in  every  wood  a 
patrol  or  slave-hunter.  We  were  hemmed  in  on 
every  side.  The  good  to  be  sought  and  the  evil 
to  be  shunned  were  flung  in  the  balance  and 
weighed  against  each  other.  On  the  one  hand 
stood  slavery,  a  stern  reality,  glaring  frightfully 
upon  us,  with  the  blood  of  millions  in  its  polluted 
skirts,  terrible  to  behold,  greedily  devouring  our 
hard  earnings  and  feeding  upon  our  flesh.  This 
was  the  evil  from  which  to  escape.  On  the  other 
hand,  far  away,  back  in  the  hazy  distance,  where 
all  forms  seemed  but  shadows  under  the  flicker- 
ing light  of  the  north  star,  behind  some  craggy 
hill  or  snow-capped  mountain,  stood  a  doubtful 
freedom,  half  frozen,  beckoning  us  to  her  icy  do- 
main. This  was  the  good  to  be  sought.  The 
inequality  was  as  great  as  that  between  certainty 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  25 

and  uncertainty.  This  in  itself  was  enough  to 
stagger  us ;  but  when  we  came  to  survey  the  un- 
trodden road  and  conjecture  the  many  possible 
difficulties,  we  were  appalled,  and  at  times,  as  I 
have  said,  were  upon  the  point  of  giving  over  the 
struggle  altogether.  The  reader  can  have  little 
idea  of  the  phantoms  which  would  flit  in  such 
circumstances  before  the  uneducated  mind  of  the 
slave.  Upon  either  side  we  saw  grim  death,  as- 
suming a  variety  of  horrid  shapes.  Now  it  was 
starvation,  causing  us,  in  a  strange  and  friendless 
land,  to  eat  our  own  flesh.  Now  we  were  con- 
tending with  the  waves  and  were  drowned.  Now 
we  were  hunted  by  dogs  and  overtaken,  and  torn 
to  pieces  by  their  merciless  fangs.  We  were 
stung  by  scorpions,  chased  by  wild  beasts,  bitten 
by  snakes,  and,  worst  of  all,  after  having  suc- 
ceeded in  swimming  rivers,  encountering  wild 
beasts,  sleeping  in  the  woods,  suffering  hunger, 
cold,  heat,  and  nakedness,  overtaken  by  hired 
kidnapers,  who,  in  the  name  of  law  and  for  the 
thrice-cursed  reward,  would,  perchance,  fire  upon 
us,  kill  some,  wound  others,  and  capture  all. 
This  dark  picture,  drawn  by  ignorance  and  fear, 
at  times  greatly  shook  our  determination,  and  not 
unfrequently  caused  us  to 

" '  Rather  bear  the  ills  we  had, 
Than  flee  to  others  which  we  knew  not  of.'  " 

But  just  as  they  were  about  to  start  they  found 


26  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

that  they  had  been  betrayed,  and  their  plans 
revealed.  As  a  result  of  this  discovery  they 
were  all  bound  with  cords  and  driven  off  to  the 
Easton  jail.  The  slaveholders  now  demanded  that 
Frederick  be  removed  from  the  neighborhood. 
Captain  Auld  therefore  sent  him  back  to  Balti- 
more to  live  with  his  brother  Hugh,  where  he 
might  learn  a  trade.  Soon  after  going  there  he 
was  hired  to  Mr.  William  Gardner,  a  ship  builder, 
for  the  purpose  of  learning  to  calk  vessels.  He 
made  no  progress  in  the  business  at  this  place. 
The  white  apprentices  thought  it  degrading  to 
work  with  a  slave,  and  on  one  occasion  made  an 
assault  upon  him.  In  the  struggle  which  ensued 
Frederick,  although  bruised  and  severely  beaten, 
resisted  as  best  he  could ;  but  at  last  had  to  yield 
because  of  the  great  numbers  against  him.  He 
was  afterwards  hired  to  Mr.  Walter  Price,  where 
he  learned  calking,  and  soon  commanded  the 
hio-hest  wasres. 

During  his  leisure  hours  he  reflected  much 
upon  his  condition  ;  and  the  more  he  reflected, 
the  more  he  hated  slavery,  and  the  more  discon- 
tented he  became.  He  therefore  determined  to 
make  another  attempt  to  secure  his  liberty,  and, 
with  this  end  in  view,  obtained  from  a  friend  a 
"Sailor's  protection,"  which  in  this  instance  served 
the  purpose  of  free  papers.  Disguised  as  a 
sailor,  he  left  Baltimore,  September  3,  183S,  now 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  27 

twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  made  his  way  to 
New  York,  where  he  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Rug- 
gles,  secretary  of  the  New  York  Vigilance  Com- 
mittee. As  soon  as  she  could  be  sent  for,  his 
affianced  wife,  Anna,  came  on,  and  they  were 
married  by  the  Rev.  J.  W.  C.  Pennington,  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Acting  upon  the  ad- 
vice of  Mr.  Ruggles,  he  went  to  New  Bedford, 
and  was  kindly  received  by  Mr.  Nathan  Johnson. 
In  slavery  Frederick's  name  was  Frederick  Au- 
gustus Bailey.  At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Johnson 
his  name  was  now  changed  to  Frederick  Doug- 
lass, by  which  title  he  has  ever  since  been  known. 
In  New  Bedford  he  found  employment  in  putting 
away  coal,  sawing  wood,  moving  rubbish,  working 
on  the  wharves,  and  in  a  brass  foundry ;  and  thus 
earned  the  means  to  support  his  family.  It  was 
here  that  he  became  a  subscriber  of  Mr.  Garri- 
son's paper,  the  Liberator,  Mr.  Douglass  says 
this  paper  took  the  place  in  his  heart,  "  second 
only  to  the  Bible."  Not  long  after  subscribing 
for  the  Liberator^  he  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
Mr.  Garrison  himself,  and  from  this  time  on  en- 
tertained for  the  distinguished  agitator  the  high- 
est admiration.  By  reading  the  Liberator  he 
came  in  possession  of  the  principles  of  the  aboli- 
tion movement.  The  spirit  that  animated  its 
friends  in  their  efforts  to  put  down  human  slavery 
had  already  been  awakened  within  him. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Career  as  an  Anti-Slavery  Agitator. — First 
Visit  to  Great  Britain. 

On  the  nth  of  August,  1 841,  an  anti-slavery 
convention  was  held  at  Nantucket.  Many  dis- 
tinguished abolitionists  were  present,  among 
whom  was  Mr.  Garrison.  Mr.  Douglass  had 
come  to  the  convention  that  he  might  learn 
something  further  of  the  principles  and  measures 
of  these  reputed  fanatics.  Being  invited  to  speak 
he  at  first  declined  to  say  anything.  Urged  by  a 
friend,  he  at  last  came  forward  with  great  reluc- 
tance and  embarrassment,  and  addressed  the 
meeting.  So  great  was  the  impression  made 
upon  the  audience  by  his  eloquent  words,  that  it 
was  the  means  of  opening  to  him  that  field  in 
which  he  has  won  so  many  laurels  as  a  platform 
speaker  and  orator.  Not  long  after  this  he  was 
appointed  a  lecturing  agent  of  the  Anti-Slavery 
Society. 

In  the  same  year  he  made  speeches  in  Rhode 
Island,  where  an  attempt  was  made  to  set  aside 
the  old  colonial  charter  by  a  constitution  in  which 
was  a  provision  to  deprive  colored  men  there  of 
the  elective  franchise.  At  this  time  there  were 
very  strong  prejudices  against  the  negro  in  that 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.        29 

state.  Speaking  of  his  work  in  Rhode  Island, 
Mr.  Douglass  says :  "  In  Grafton,  I  was  alone, 
and  there  was  neither  house,  hall,  church,  nor 
market-place  in  which  I  could  speak  to  the  peo- 
ple, but,  determined  to  speak,  I  went  to  the  hotel 
and  borrowed  a  dinner  bell,  with  which  in  hand  I 
passed  through  the  principal  streets,  ringing  the 
bell  and  crying  out,  '  Notice  !  Frederick  Doug- 
lass, recently  a  slave,  will  lecture  on  American 
slavery,  on  Grafton  common  this  evening  at  seven 
o'clock.  Those  who  would  like  to  hear  of  the 
great  workings  of  slavery,  by  one  of  the  slaves, 
are  respectfully  invited  to  attend.'  This  notice 
brought  a  large  audience,  after  which  the  largest 
church  in  town  was  open  to  me." 

In  what  is  known  as  the  "  hundred  conven- 
tions," which  in  the  year  1843  were  held  in  New 
Hampshire,  New  York,  Vermont,  Ohio,  Indiana, 
and  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Douglass  took  an  active 
and  leading  part.  He  experienced  the  same  diffi- 
culty in  procuring  places  in  which  to  speak,  and 
often  he  was  compelled  to  hold  his  meetings  in 
the  open  air.  A  memorable  meeting  was  held  at 
Pendleton,  Indiana.  No  building  of  any  kind 
could  be  procured  in  which  to  hold  the  assem- 
blage, and  consequently  they  convened  in  the 
woods  near  by,  where  an  infuriated  mob  rushed 
upon  and  assaulted  them.  Mr.  Douglass,  in 
attempting  to  fight  his  way  through  the  crowd, 


30  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

had  his  arm  broken,  was  knocked  down,  and 
left  unconscious  by  his  cowardly  assailants.  At 
Buffalo,  where  one  of  these  meetings  was  con- 
vened, he  took  part  in  a  convention  of  colored 
men  assembled  about  the  same  time  to  discuss 
questions  of  importance  to  the  race. 

Mr.  Douglass,  some  time  after  his  speech  at 
the  Nantucket  convention,  wrote  an  account  of 
his  life  and  published  it  in  pamphlet  form.  These 
pamphlets  were  widely  circulated  and  read,  and 
they,  together  with  the  addresses  he  had  delivered 
as  agent  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  attracted  to 
himself  the  attention  of  the  country.  For  this 
reason  he  was  now  in  danger  of  being  seized  and 
carried  back  into  slavery.  With  the  view  of 
avoiding  the  possibility  of  such  a  misfortune,  he 
was  induced  to  seek  refuge  abroad. 

The  visit  which  Mr.  Douglass  at  this  time 
made  to  Great  Britain  was  of  much  benefit  to 
him,  as  it  gave  opportunity  of  seeing  the  great 
cities  of  the  mother  country,  of  studying  the 
character  of  its  people  and  their  institutions,  of 
hearing  the  great  orators  of  the  age,  and  of  meet- 
ing many  eminent  literary  and  educated  men. 
He  heard  in  parliamentary  debate,  Cobden,  Bright, 
Peel,  Disraeli,  O'Connell,  Lord  John  Russell, 
Lord  Brougham,  and  other  renowned  statesmen. 
Of  all  these  distinguished  men,  he  thought  Lord 
Brougham  the  best  speaker.     He  was  kindly  re- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  3 1 

celved  and  hospitably  entertained  by  eminent 
men  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  On  the 
7th  of  August,  1846,  the  World's  Temperance 
Convention  was  held  in  Covent  Garden  Theater, 
London.  To  Mr.  Douglass  was  extended  an 
invitation  to  speak,  with  which  he  complied,  his 
remarks  having  special  reference  to  the  condition 
of  the  colored  people  in  the  United  States. 

A  question  of  importance  was  being  discussed 
in  Scotland  whither  he  now  went.  The  Free 
Church  there  received  contributions  from  slave- 
holders, and,  by  so  doing,  gave  its  sanction  to 
slavery.  This  system  was  condemned  by  many 
of  the  leading  men  of  Glasgow.  Some  undertook 
to  defend  in  the  name  of  the  Bible  not  only  this 
system  but  the  holding  of  fellowship  with  slave- 
holders. Scotland  was  roused  with  excitement 
over  the  question.  Much  good  resulted  from  the 
agitation  which  followed.  Slavery  was  thoroughly 
discussed,  and  its  pernicious  practices  exposed. 
To  Mr.  Douglass  more  than  to  any  other  at  the 
time  was  given  the  credit  of  awakening  the  moral 
and  religious  sentiment  of  the  people  against  the 
holding  of  human  beings  in  bondage.  Before  his 
return  to  America,  which  soon  after  followed, 
some  friends  raised  the  money  and  purchased  his 
freedom  from  his  owner.  Captain  Auld  of  Mary- 
land, the  amount  charged  being  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  sterling. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Editor   of   the  "  North   Star."  —  Connection 
WITH  John  Brown. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States  Mr.  Doug- 
lass determined  to  establish  a  newspaper,  his  idea 
being  that  a  newspaper  in  the  hands  of  a  colored 
man,  if  properly  conducted,  would  greatly  assist 
in  creating  public  sentiment  for  the  overthrow  of 
slavery.  At  that  time  there  was  no  newspaper  in 
this  country  under  the  control  of  colored  men, 
though  at  intervals  efforts  had  been  made  to 
establish  one.  The  name  given  to  the  paper 
which  he  subsequently  published  at  Rochester, 
New  York,  was  the  North  Star,  but  it  was  after- 
wards called  Frederick  Douglass  Paper.  The 
publication  of  this  journal  reached  a  large  circu- 
lation and  was  a  source  of  incalculable  benefit  to 
its  founder.  He  was  required  to  write  editorials 
and  other  matter,  and  had,  therefore,  to  inform 
himself  upon  the  subjects  about  which  he  wrote. 
Much  time  was  necessarily  spent  in  reading  and 
research,  so  that,  under  the  circumstances,  his 
paper  was  for  him  the  very  best  educator.  In  his 
early  anti-slavery  life  he  was  a  disciple  of  Mr. 
Garrison  and  believed  with  him  in  the  pro-slav- 
ery character  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.        33 

States — that  slavery  could  only  be  effectually 
destroyed  by  dissolving  the  union.  He  now  held 
the  opposite  view,  and  ably  defended  his  changed 
opinions  through  the  columns  of  the  North  Star, 

In  June,  1872,  he  suffered  a  severe  loss.  His 
house  was  burned  down,  and  among  the  other 
losses  he  sustained  was  that  of  twelve  volumes  of 
his  paper.  These  he  has  been  able  to  replace 
only  in  part.  The  destruction  of  these  volumes 
is  not  a  loss  to  the  editor  alone ;  it  is  also  a  loss 
to  the  country,  for  they  contained  some  of  his 
best  thoughts  upon  many  of  the  most  important 
questions  which  were  before  the  people  from 
1848  to  i860. 

Mr.  Douglass  during  one  winter  delivered  a 
course  of  lectures  on  Sunday  evening  of  each 
week  in  Corinthian  Hall,  in  Rochester,  and  these 
lectures  contributed  in  creating  a  healthy  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  in  that  city  and  western  New 
York.  In  the  midst  of  all  these  duties  he  also 
found  time  to  act  as  conductor  of  the  Under- 
ground railroad.  It  was  his  business  to  receive 
fugitive  slaves,  secrete  them,  raise  means,  and 
send  them  on  to  Canada. 

Soon  after  he  began  to  publish  his  paper,  he 
became  acquainted  with  John  Brown,  then  resid- 
ing in  Springfield,  Mass.  Mr.  Douglass  on  invi- 
tation visited  that  personage,  who  afterwards 
became  so  famous,  and  thus  describes  him :    "  In 


34  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

person  he  was  lean,  strong,  and  sinewy ;  of  the 
best  New  England  mold,  built  for  times  of 
trouble,  fitted  to  grapple  with  the  flintiest  hard- 
ships. Clad  in  plain  American  woolen,  shod  in 
boots  of  cowhide  leather,  and  wearing  a  cravat  of 
the  same  substantial  material;  under  six  feet  high, 
less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  in  weight, 
aged  about  fifty,  he  presented  a  figure  straight 
and  symmetrical  as  a  mountain  pine.  His  bear- 
ing was  singularly  impressive.  His  head  was  not 
large,  but  compact  and  high.  His  hair  was 
coarse,  strong,  slightly  gray,  and  closely  trimmed, 
and  grew  low  on  his  forehead.  His  face  was 
smoothly  shaved,  and  revealed  a  strong,  square 
mouth,  supported  by  a  broad  and  prominent 
chin.  His  eyes  were  bluish  gray,  and  in  conver- 
sation they  were  full  of  light  and  fire.  When  on 
the  street,  he  moved  with  a  long,  springing,  race- 
horse step,  absorbed  in  his  own  reflections,  neither 
seeking  nor  shunning  observation.  Such  was 
Captain  Brown,  whose  name  has  now  passed  into 
history  as  one  of  the  most  marked  characters  and 
greatest  heroes  known  to  American  fame." 

Mr.  Brown  explained  the  plan  he  had  formed 
of  freeing  the  bondmen  of  the  South.  It  then 
was  not  his  purpose  to  cause  an  insurrection  of 
the  slaves ;  but  he  proposed  that  certain  reliable 
men  whom  he  would  select  and  place  at  different 
points  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia  and  Mary- 


From  Harper's  Weekly.  Copyright,  1877,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 

JOHN    BROWN. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  35 

land,  should  go  down  into  the  lowlands,  as  oppor- 
tunity offered,  and  induce  slaves  to  esca.pe.  These 
should  then  be  sent  to  Canada  through  means 
which  would  be  provided.  This  in  substance 
was  Mr.  Brown's  plan.  Mr.  Douglass  was  very 
much  impressed  with  his  visit  to  John  Brown, 
and  began  to  doubt  that  slavery  could  ever  be 
destroyed  by  peaceful  means.  From  this  time  on 
his  speeches  showed  that  this  impression  had 
become  a  firm  belief. 

Nothing  was  attempted  by  Brown  in  this  mat- 
ter till  after  the  Kansas  difficulty  was  settled. 
The  two  men  continued  friends  from  their  very 
first  acquaintance,  and  frequently  exchanged 
visits.  Just  after  the  Kansas  trouble  Brown 
came  to  Rochester  and  remained  with  Mr.  Doug- 
lass several  weeks.  While  there  he  prepared  a 
constitution  which  he  intended  should  govern 
those  associated  with  him.  Mr.  Douglass  has 
now  a  copy  of  this  constitution  in  Brown's  own 
handwriting.  It  had  been  Brown's  purpose  to 
begin  work  in  1858,  but,  on  account  of  the  expos- 
ure of  his  plans  by  an  Englishman  whom  he  had 
met  in  Kansas,  operations  were  postponed  a  year 
later. 

This  year  brought  some  changes  in  the  original 
plans.  Three  weeks  before  he  made  his  raid  on 
Harper's  Ferry,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Douglass  to 
come  to  Chambersburg,  Penn.,  as   he  wished  to 


36  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

confer  with  him.  The  place  selected  for  the 
meeting  was  an  old  stone  quarry  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  city.  Thither  Mr.  Douglass  went,  taking 
with  him  Shields  Green,  a  fugitive  slave  from 
South  Carolina  whom  Brown  had  met  at  Mr. 
Douglass'  house  in  Rochester.  What  took  place 
in  that  memorable  conference  August  19,  we  will 
set  forth  in  the  exact  language  of  Mr.  Douglass 
as  he  has  himself  related  it:  "  When  I  reached 
Chambersburg,  a  good  deal  of  surprise  was  ex- 
pressed (for  I  was  instantly  recognized),  that  I 
should  come  there  unannounced,  and  I  was 
pressed  to  make  a  speech  to  them,  with  which  in- 
vitation I  readily  complied.  Meanwhile,  I  called 
upon  Mr.  Henry  Watson,  a  simple-minded  and 
warm-hearted  man,  to  whom  Captain  Brown  had 
imparted  the  secret  of  my  visit,  to  show  me  the 
road  to  the  appointed  rendezvous.  Watson  was 
very  busy  in  his  barber's  shop,  but  he  dropped 
all  and  put  me  on  the  right  track.  I  approached 
the  old  quarry  very  cautiously,  for  John  Brown 
was  generally  well  armed  and  regarded  strangers 
with  suspicion.  He  was  there  under  the  ban  of 
the  government,  and  heavy  rewards  were  offered 
for  his  arrest,  for  offenses  said  to  have  been  com- 
mitted in  Kansas.  He  was  passing  under  the 
name  of  John  Smith.  As  I  came  near,  he  re- 
garded me  rather  suspiciously,  but  soon  recog- 
nized me,  and  received  me  cordially.     He  had  in 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  37 

his  hand  when  I  met  him,  a  fishing-tackle,  with 
which  he  had  apparently  been  fishing  in  a  stream 
hard  by ;  but  I  saw  no  fish,  and  I  did  not  suppose 
he  cared  much  for  his  '  fisherman's  luck.'  The 
fishing  was  simply  a  disguise,  and  was  certainly  a 
good  one.  He  looked  every  way  like  a  man  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  as  much  at  home  as  any 
of  the  farmers  around  there.  His  hat  was  old, 
and  storm  beaten,  and  his  clothing  was  about  the 
color  of  the  stone  quarry  itself — his  then  present 
hiding  place. 

"  His  face  wore  an  anxious  expression,  and  he 
was  much  worn  by  thought  and  exposure.  I  felt 
that  I  was  on  a  dangerous  mission,  and  I  was  as 
little  desirous  of  discovery  as  himself,  though  no 
reward  had  been  offered  for  me. 

"We — Mr.  Kagi,  Captain  Brown,  Shields 
Green,  and  myself— sat  down  among  the  rocks 
and  talked  over  the  enterprise  which  was  about  to 
be  undertaken.  The  taking  of  Harper's  Ferry,  of 
which  Captain  Brown  had  merely  hinted  before, 
was  now  declared  as  his  settled  purpose,  and  he 
wanted  to  know  what  I  thought  of  it.  I  at  once 
opposed  the  measure  with  all  the  arguments  at 
my  command.  To  me,  such  a  measure  would  be 
fatal  to  running  off  slaves  (as  was  the  original 
plan),  and  fatal  to  all  engaged  in  doing  so.  It 
would  be  an  attack  upon  the  federal  government, 
and  would  array  the  whole  country  against  us. 


38        LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

Captain  Brown  did  most  of  the  talking  on  the 
other  side  of  the  question.  He  did  not  at  all 
object  to  rousing  the  nation  ;  it  seemed  to  him 
that  something  startling  was  just  what  the  nation 
needed.  He  had  completely  renounced  his  old 
plan,  and  thought  that  the  capture  of  Harper's 
Ferry  would  serve  as  notice  to  the  slaves  that 
their  friends  had  come,  and  as  a  trumpet  to  rally 
them  to  his  standard.  He  described  the  place  as 
to  its  means  of  defense,  and  how  impossible  it 
would  be  to  dislodge  him  if  once  in  possession. 
Of  course  I  was  no  match  for  him  in  such  matters, 
but  I  told  him,  and  these  were  my  words,  that  all 
his  arguments,  and  all  his  descriptions  of  the 
place,  convinced  me  that  he  was  going  into  a  per- 
fect steel  trap,  and  that  once  in  he  would  never 
get  out  alive ;  that  he  would  be  surrounded  at 
once  and  escape  would  be  impossible.  He  was 
not  to  be  shaken  by  anything  I  could  say,  but 
treated  my  views  respectfully,  replying  that  even 
if  surrounded  he  would  find  means  for  cutting  his 
way  out ;  but  that  would  not  be  forced  upon  him  ; 
he  should  have  a  number  of  the  best  citizens  of 
the  neighborhood  as  his  prisoners  at  the  start, 
and  that  holding  them  as  hostages,  he  should  be 
able  if  worse  came  to  worse,  to  dictate  terms  of 
egress  from  the  town.  I  looked  at  him  with 
some  astonishment  that  he  could  rest  upon  a 
reed  so  weak  and  broken,  and  told  him  that  Vir- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  39 

ginia  would  blow  him  and  his  hostages  sky-high, 
rather  than  that  he  should  hold  Harper's  Ferry 
an  hour.  Our  talk  was  long  and  earnest;  we 
spent  the  most  of  Saturday  and  a  part  of  Sunday 
in  this  debate — Brown  for  Harper's  Ferry,  and  I 
against  it ;  he  for  striking  a  blow  which  should 
instantly  rouse  the  country,  and  I  for  the  policy 
of  gradually  and  unaccountably  drawing  off  slaves 
to  the  mountains,  as  at  first  suggested  and  pro- 
posed by  him.  When  I  found  that  he  had  fully 
made  up  his  mind  and  could  not  be  dissuaded,  I 
turned  to  Shields  Green  and  told  him  he  heard 
what  Captain  Brown  had  said  ;  his  old  plan  was 
changed,  and  that  I  should  return  home,  and  if 
he  wished  to  go  with  me  he  could  do  so.  Cap- 
tain Brown  urged  us  both  to  go  with  him,  but  I 
could  not  do  so,  and  could  but  feel  that  he  was 
about  to  rivet  the  fetters  more  firmly  than  ever 
on  the  limbs  of  the  enslaved.  In  parting  he  put 
his  arms  around  me  in  a  manner  more  than 
friendly,  and  said :  '  Come  with  me,  Douglass,  I 
will  defend  you  with  my  life.  I  want  you  for  a 
special  purpose.  When  I  strike,  the  bees  w^ill 
begin  to  swarm,  and  I  shall  want  you  to  help  hive 
them.'  But  my  discretion  or  my  cowardice  made 
me  proof  against  the  dear  old  man's  eloquence — 
perhaps  it  was  something  of  both  which  deter- 
mined my  course.  When  about  to  leave  I  asked 
Green  what  he  had  decided  to  do,  and  was  sur- 


40  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

prised  by  his  coolly  saying  in  his  broken  way,  '  I 
b'leve  I'll  go  wid  de  ole  man.'  Here  we  sepa- 
rated ;  they  to  go  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  I  to 
Rochester." 

On  their  way  to  Chambersburg  Mr.  Douglass 
and  Shields  Green  stopped  at  Mrs.  E.  A.  Glou- 
cester's in  Brooklyn,  August  i8,  who  sent  through 
Mr.  Douglass  to  Captain  Brown  a  letter  and  a 
small  amount  of  money.  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  a  letter  signed  by  colored  citizens  of 
Philadelphia,  which  was  found  among  the  papers 
at  the  Kennedy  farm,  Brown's  headquarters  be- 
fore moving  on  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  was  sent 
to  Mr.  Douglass  at  Rochester  in  September : 
"  F.  D.,  Esq.,  Dear  Sir, — The  undersigned  feel  it 
to  be  of  the  utmost  importance  that  our  class  be 
properly  represented  in  a  convention  to  come  off 
right  away  (near)  Chambersburg,  in  this  state. 
We  think  you  are  the  man  of  all  others  to  repre- 
sent us  ;  and  we  severally  pledge  ourselves  that 
in  case  you  will  come  right  on  we  will  see  your 
family  well  provided  for  during  your  absence,  or 
until  your  safe  return  to  them.  Answer  to  us 
and  to  John  Henrie,  Esq.,  Chambersburg,  Penn., 
at  once.  We  are  ready  to  make  you  a  remit- 
tance, if  you  go.  We  have  now  quite  a  number 
of  good  but  not  very  intelligent  representatives 
collected.  Some  of  our  numbers  are  ready  to  go 
on  with  you."     It  was  never  known  why  this  letter 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  4 1 

was  sent  to  Mr.  Douglass.  He  thinks,  however, 
that  the  sending  of  it  was  prompted  by  Kagi,  who 
was  present  at  the  Chambersburg  interview,  and 
had  heard  him  say  that  he  could  not  go  to  Har- 
per's Ferry  in  the  way  proposed.  Kagi  probably 
thought  a  letter  signed  as  this  was  would  induce 
Mr.  Douglass  to  reconsider  his  determination 
and  at  last  consent  to  accompany  Brown. 

The  report  of  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry 
was  received  by  Mr.  Douglass  in  Philadelphia. 
Information  soon  followed  to  the  effect  that 
Brown  had  been  captured,  and  that  a  carpet  bag 
had  been  found  containing  letters  from  abolition- 
ists, among  which  were  some  from  Mr.  Douglass. 
Leaving  the  city  upon  the  advice  of  friends,  Mr. 
Douglass  went  to  New  York.  There  he  learned 
that  the  government  intended  to  arrest  all  who 
had  been  in  any  way  connected  with  the  raid  at 
Harper's  Ferry.  Alarmed  at  this  intelligence  he 
sent  a  message  to  his  son  Lewis  at  home  to  secure 
the  important  papers  which  were  in  his  "  high 
desk."  Arriving  at  Rochester,  he  ascertained 
through  Lieutenant  Governor  Selden,  his  neigh- 
bor, that  the  governor  of  New  York  would  sur- 
render him  upon  legal  demand  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia.  Mr.  Selden  advised  him  to 
leave  the  country  without  delay.  Canada  being 
the  nearest  refuge,  he  went  thither.  Governor 
Wise,  hearing  that  he   had  gone   to   Michigan, 


42  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

made  a  demand  upon  the  governor  of  that  state 
for  his  detention  and  surrender  to  the  Virginia 
authorities.  The  following  letter,  which  was 
sent  to  Mr.  Douglass  by  the  historian,  B.  J.  Loss- 
ing,  after  the  war,  shows  that  he  acted  wisely  at 
the  time  in  taking  the  advice  of  friends  and  thus 
putting  himself  beyond  the  danger  of  apprehen- 
sion : — 

(Confidential.) 

To  His  Excellency,  James  Buchanan,  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  the  Honorable  Postmaster-General  of  the  United 
States : — 

Gentlemen, — I  have  information  such  as  has  caused  me, 
upon  proper  affidavit,  to  make  requisition  upon  the  executive 
of  Michigan  for  the  delivery  up  of  the  person  of  Frederick 
Douglass,  a  negro  man,  supposed  now  to  be  in  Michigan, 
charged  with  murder,  robbery,  and  inciting  servile  insurrection 
in  the  state  of  Virginia.  My  agents  for  the  arrest  and  reclama- 
tion of  the  person  so  charged  are  Benjamin  M.  Morris  and  Will- 
iam N.  Kelly.  The  latter  has  the  requisition,  and  will  wait  on 
you  to  the  end  of  obtaining  nominal  authority  as  post  office 
agent.  They  need  be  very  secretive  in  this  matter,  and  some 
pretext  for  traveling  through  the  dangerous  section  for  the  exe- 
cution of  the  law  in  this  behalf,  and  some  protection  against 
obtrusive,  unruly,  or  lawless  violence.  If  it  be  proper  so  to  do, 
will  the  postmaster-general  be  pleased  to  give  to  Mr.  Kelly,  for 
each  of  these  men,  a  permit  and  authority  to  act  as  detectives 
for  the  post  office  department,  without  pay,  but  to  pass  and  re- 
pass without  question,  delay,  or  hindrance  ? 

Respectfully  submitted  by 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Henry  A.  Wise. 

It  was   evident   that  Mr.  Douglass  could  not 
hope  for  a  fair  trial  before  a  Virginia  jury.     He 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  43 

also  doubtless  felt  that  even  in  Canada  he  was 
not  safe,  for  there  was  danger  of  being  kidnaped 
and  brought  back  to  the  United  States ;  hence 
he  left  for  England  on  the  12th  of  the  same 
month.  He  remained  abroad  six  months,  speak- 
ing upon  anti-slavery  and  other  subjects  in  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
was  summoned  home  by  the  death  of  his  daugh- 
ter Annie. 

Some  were  disposed  to  criticise  Mr.  Douglass 
for  the  course  he  pursued  in  the  Harper's  Ferry 
affair,  and  went  so  far  as  to  assert  that  he 
deserted  Brown  on  that  occasion.  It  is  no  doubt 
true  that  these  criticisms  grew  out  of  the  reports 
telegraphed  over  the  country,  after  the  capture 
of  Brown,  in  which  Cook,  one  of  Brown's  men, 
was  made  to  say  that  Mr.  Douglass  had  promised 
to  be  present  in  person  on  this  famous  expedition. 
Mr.  Douglass,  before  taking  his  departure  for 
Europe,  wrote  a  letter  which  was  published  in 
the  Rochester  Democrat  and  America7t,  in  which 
he  emphatically  denied  these  statements,  thus 
attributed  to  Cook.  The  one  sentence  I  quote  is 
characteristic  of  the  whole  letter :  "  I  therefore 
declare  that  there  is  no  man  living  and  no  man 
dead  who,  if  living,  could  truthfully  say  that  I 
ever  promised  him  or  anybody  else,  either  condi- 
tionally or  otherwise,  that  I  would  be  present  in 
person  at  the  Harper's  Ferry  insurrection."     Mr. 


44  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Douglass,  in  this  letter  quoted  from,  also  prom- 
ised at  the  proper  time,  when  it  could  be  done 
without  compromising  the  friends  of  the  slaves, 
to  tell  all  he  knew  of  the  attempt  of  John  Brown 
to  liberate  the  bondmen  of  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land. As  the  country  knows,  he  has  faithfully 
kept  that  promise  in  a  published  statement  giv- 
ing all  the  facts  as  far  as  he  knew  them.  Subse- 
quent history  also  verifies  what  he  wrote  to  the 
Rochester  Democrat  and  American  while  in 
Canada.  The  recent  publication  of  the  Life  and 
Letters  of  John  Brown,  by  his  friend,  F.  B.  San- 
born, in  which  all  the  particulars  of  the  foray  at 
Harper's  Ferry  are  given  to  the  public,  coincides 
with  what  Mr.  Douglass  has  said.  I  quote  Mr. 
Sanborn,  page  418  : — 

"John  Brown's  long  meditated  plan  of  action 
in  Virginia  was  wholly  his  own,  as  he  more  than 
once  declared,  and  it  was  not  until  he  had  long 
formed  and  matured  it,  that  he  made  it  known  to 
the  few  friends  outside  of  his  own  household  who 
shared  his  confidence  in  that  matter.  I  cannot 
say  how  numerous  these  were,  but  beyond  his 
family  and  the  armed  followers  who  accompanied 
him,  I  have  never  supposed  that  his  Virginia 
plan  was  known  to  fifty  persons.  Even  to  those 
few  it  was  not  fully  communicated,  though  they 
knew  that  he  meant  to  fortify  himself  somewhere 
in  the  mountains  of  Virginia  or  Tennessee,  and 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  45 

from  that  fastness,  with  his  band  of  soldiers,  sally 
out  and  emancipate  slaves,  seize  hostages,  and 
levy  contributions  on  the  slaveholders.  More- 
over, from  the  time  he  first  matured  it,  there 
were  several  changes,  amounting  at  last  to  an 
entire  modification  of  the  scheme.  As  he  declared 
it  to  me  in  1858  in  the  house  of  Gerrit  Smith  at 
Peterboro,  it  was  very  different  from  the  plan  he 
had  unfolded  to  Thomas  and  to  that  other  Mary- 
land freedman,  Frederick  Douglass,  at  Brown's 
own  house  in  Springfield  in  1847." 

I  believe  there  is  no  one  who,  in  the  light  of 
developments,  will  say  that  Mr.  Douglass  acted 
in  bad  faith  to  John  Brown.  The  interview  at 
Chambersburg  shows  that  Brown  never  lost  con- 
fidence in  his  friend.  Mr.  Douglass  never  saw 
Cook,  had  no  communication  with  him  whatever. 
Even  if  Cook  did  say  what  was  imputed  to  him, 
it  can  be  shown  by  Brown  himself  that  he  was 
not  always  truthful.  Brown,  on  his  way  to  the 
scaffold,  said  to  Cook,  who  had  made  a  confession, 
"  You  have  made  false  statements — that  I  sent 
you  to  Harper's  Ferry ;  you  know  I  protested 
against  your  coming." 

The  following  statement,  which  recently  ap- 
peared in  a  leading  journal,  will  throw  additional 
light  upon  the  facts  connected  with  the  hurried 
departure  of  Mr.  Douglass  for  Canada  just  after 
John  Brown  was  taken  at  Harper's  Ferry. 


46        LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

"  '  Yes,  sir ;  I  am  the  man  who  saved  Fred. 
Douglass'  life  when  "  Old  John  Brown  "  was  cap- 
tured at  Harper's  Ferry.  I  suppressed  a  dispatch 
addressed  to  the  sheriff  of  Philadelphia,  instruct- 
ing him  to  arrest  Douglass,  who  was  then  in  that 
city,  as  proofs  of  his  complicity  in  the  memor- 
able raid  were  discovered  when  John  Brown  was 
taken  into  custody.' 

"  Seated  on  the  doorstep  of  his  cozy  cottage, 
a  few  miles  outside  of  Vineland,  New  Jersey,  was 
John  W.  Hurn,  a  pleasant,  gray-bearded  man  of 
sixty,  who,  when  questioned,  answered  as  above 
respecting  the  aid  rendered  by  him  to  the  noted 
abolitionist. 

"  '  At  that  time  I  was  a  telegraph  operator 
located  in  Philadelphia,'  continued  Mr.  Hurn, 
'  and  when  I  received  the  dispatch  I  was  fright- 
ened nearly  out  of  my  wits.  As  I  was  an  ardent 
admirer  of  the  great  ex-slave,  I  resolved  to  warn 
Douglass  of  his  impending  fate,  no  matter  what 
the  result  might  be  to  me.  The  news  had 
just  been  spread  throughout  the  country  of  the 
bold  action  of  John  Brown  in  taking  Harper's 
Ferry.  Everybody  was  excited  and  public  feel- 
ing ran  high.  Before  the  intelligence  came  that 
Brown  had  been  captured,  the  dispatch  I  have 
mentioned  was  sent  by  the  sheriff  of  Franklin 
county,  Penn.,  to  the  sheriff  of  Philadelphia,  in- 
forming him  that  Douglass  had  been  one  of  the 


LIFE    OF   FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  47 

leading  conspirators,  and  requesting  that  he 
should  be  immediately  apprehended. 

"  *  Though  I  knew  it  was  illegal  to  do  so,  I 
quietly  put  the  dispatch  in  my  pocket,  and,  ask- 
ing another  operator  to  take  my  place,  started  on 
my  search  for  Fred.  Douglass.  I  went  directly 
to  Miller  McKim,  the  secretary  of  the  contra- 
band, underground,  fugitive  railway  office  in 
Philadelphia,  and  inquired  for  my  man.  Mr. 
McKim  hesitated  to  tell  me,  whereupon  Tshowed 
him  the  dispatch  and  promised  him  not  to  allow 
it  to  be  delivered  within  three  hours.  I  told  him 
I  would  not  do  this  unless  he  agreed  to  get  Mr. 
Douglass  out  of  the  states.  This  he  readily 
assented  to,  for  it  was  his  business  to  spirit 
escaped  slaves  beyond  the  reach  of  the  authori- 
ties. I  returned  to  the  telegraph  office  and  kept 
a  sharp  lookout  for  similar  dispatches.  None 
arrived,  however,  and  when  the  allotted  time 
expired  I  sent  the  belated  message  to  its  destina- 
tion. 

"  *  In  the  mean  time  those  intrusted  with  my 
secret  saw  Mr.  Douglass  and  urged  him  to  leave 
the  town  as  quickly  as  possible.  He  was  loath  to 
do  so  at  first,  but  the  expostulation  of  his  friends 
overcame  his  objections,  and  in  an  hour  he  left 
on  a  railroad  train.  He  reached  his  home  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  in  safety,  destroying  the 
compromising  documents,  and  then  packed  his 


48  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

gripsack  and  started  for  Canada.  It  was  fortu- 
nate for  him  that  he  left  so  soon  as  he  did,  for 
immediately  after  his  departure  from  Rochester 
his  home  was  surrounded  by  officers.'  " 

We  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  in  this  connec- 
tion for  the  information  of  the  reader  an  incident 
which  occurred  in  the  early  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Douglass  with  Brown,  related  by  a  writer  who 
styles  himself  the  "  Rambler,"  in  an  article  pub- 
lished in  a  New  England  paper. 

"  In  the  spring  of  '57,  just  after  the  Dred  Scott 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Rambler  (be- 
ing then  a  resident  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  fondly 
called  by  the  citizens  '  The  Heart  of  the  Com- 
monwealth ')  was  getting  up  a  lecture  for  Freder- 
ick Douglass.  He  secured  the  then  mayor  of  the 
city  to  preside,  it  being  the  first  time  that  the 
mayor  of  an  American  city  had  presided  at  an 
address  of  Mr.  Douglass.  The  Rambler  called 
at  the  house  of  Hon.  Eli  Thayer,  then  member  of 
Congress  from  the  ninth  district,  to  ask  him  to 
sit  on  the  platform.  Here  he  found  a  stranger, 
a  man  of  tall,  gaunt  form,  with  a  face  smooth 
shaven,  destitute  of  the  full  beard  that  later  be- 
came a  part  of  history.  The  children  were  climb- 
ing over  his  knees  ;  he  said,  '  The  children  always 
come  to  me.'  The  Rambler  was  introduced  to 
John  Brown  of  Ossawatomie.  How  little  one 
imagined  then  that,  within  less  than  three  years. 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.        49 

the  name  of  this  plain,  homespun  man  would  fill 
America  and  Europe. 

"  Mr.  Brown  kindly  consented  to  occupy  a  place 
on  the  platform,  and  at  the  urgent  request  of  the 
audience  spoke  briefly.  It  is  one  of  the  curious 
facts,  that  many  men  who  can  do  it  are  utterly 
unable  to  tell  about  it.  John  Brown,  a  flame  of 
fire  in  action,  was  dull  in  speech.  How  many 
men  are  a  living  flame  on  the  platform,  who  are 
nowhere  in  action.  John  Brown  taught  the 
world  one  lesson  among  others.  Jf  a  man  fully, 
absolutely,  believes  what  he  says,  and  if  he  has 
laid  aside  all  fear,  so  that  death  has  no  terrors  for 
him,  that  man  is  a  power,  that  man  is  to  be 
feared." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Second  Visit  to  England. — The  War  of  the 

Rebellion. 

Mr.  Douglass  returned  from  England  in  time 
to  take  part  in  the  great  presidential  campaign  of 
i860.  He  entered  into  that  contest  with  earnest- 
ness and  enthusiasm,  for  he  believed  that  it  was  a 
struggle  which  would  decide  the  fate  of  slavery  in 
the  United  States.  Later  on  when  the  war  had 
been  in  progress  three  years,  and  the  government 
decided  to  accept  colored  volunteers,  he  became 
conspicuous  for  the  support  and  encouragement 
he  gave  in  the  enlistment  of  colored  troops. 
When  Governor  Andrew  of  Massachusetts  was 
given  authority  by  President  Lincoln  to  put  into 
the  field  two  colored  regiments,  the  54th  and 
55th,  Mr.  Douglass  made  a  most  eloquent  appeal 
through  his  paper  to  the  colored  people  of  the 
North  to  enlist.  There  being  few  colored  men 
in  Massachusetts,  it  was  found  necessary  to  go 
outside  of  that  state  to  recruit.  Mr.  Douglass 
not  only  urged  and  induced  others  to  go,  but  gave 
his  two  sons,  Lewis  and  Charles,  to  the  cause; 
the  latter  of  whom  was  the  first  colored  man  to 
enlist  in  the  state  of  New  York.  Some  time 
later  his  third  and  last  son,  Frederick,  Jr.,  also 
entered  the  service. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  5 1 

It  was  proposed  in  Pennsylvania  to  raise  ten 
regiments,  and  Mr.  Douglass  was  again  requested 
to  give  his  assistance  in  the  work  of  recruiting. 
He  entered  this  service  with  the  understanding 
that  when  they  enlisted  colored  men  should  re- 
ceive the  same  treatment  that  was  accorded  to 
white  soldiers.  The  government,  however,  did 
not  do  in  this  respect  what  was  expected  of  it ; 
on  which  account  Mr.  Douglass,  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened, suspended  his  labors  for  a  time.  But 
finally,  urged  by  Mr.  Stearns,  who  had  first  sought 
his  assistance  in  enlisting  men,  he  went  to  Wash- 
ington and  presented  the  matter  to  the  president 
and  secretary  of  war.  He  thus  describes  his  first 
meeting  with  President  Lincoln :  "  I  shall  never 
forget  my  first  interview  with  this  great  man.  I 
was  accompanied  to  the  executive  mansion  and 
introduced  to  President  Lincoln  by  Senator 
Pomeroy.  The  room  in  which  he  received  vis- 
itors was  the  one  now  used  by  the  presidents 
secretaries.  I  entered  it  with  a  moderate  esti- 
mate of  my  own  consequence,  and  yet  there  I  was 
to  talk  with,  and  even  to  advise,  the  head  of  a 
great  nation.  Happily  for  me  there  was  no  vain 
pomp  and  ceremony  about  him.  I  was  never 
more  quickly  or  more  completely  put  at  ease  in 
the  presence  of  a  great  man  than  in  that  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  He  was  seated,  when  I  entered,  in 
a  low   arm-chair,  with  his   feet  extended  on  the 


52        LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

floor,  surrounded  by  a  large  number  of  docu- 
ments and  several  busy  secretaries.  The  room 
bore  the  marks  of  business,  and  the  persons  in  it, 
the  president  included,  appeared  to  be  much 
overworked  and  tired.  Long  lines  of  care  were 
already  deeply  written  on  Mr.  Lincoln's  brow,  and 
his  strong  face,  full  of  earnestness,  lighted  up  as 
soon  as  my  name  was  mentioned.  As  I  ap- 
proached and  was  introduced  to  him,  he  rose  and 
extended  his  hand,  and  bade  me  welcome.  I  at 
once  felt  myself  in  the  presence  of  an  honest 
man — one  whom  I  could  love,  honor,  and  trust 
without  reserve  or  doubt.  Proceeding  to  tell  him 
who  I  was,  and  what  I  was  doing,  he  promptly 
but  kindly  stopped  me,  saying,  '  I  know  who  you 
are,  Mr.  Douglass.  Mr.  Seward  has  told  me  all 
about  you.  Sit  down  ;  I  am  glad  to  see  you.*  I 
then  told  him  the  object  of  my  visit ;  that  I  was 
assisting  to  raise  colored  troops ;  that  several 
months  before  I  had  been  very  successful  in  get- 
ting men  to  enlist,  but  that  now  it  was  not  easy 
to  induce  the  colored  men  to  enter  the  service, 
because  there  was  a  feeling  among  them  that  the 
government  did  not  deal  fairly  with  them  in  sev- 
eral respects.  Mr.  Lincoln  asked  me  to  state 
particulars.  I  replied  that  there  were  three  par- 
ticulars which  I  wished  to  bring  to  his  attention. 
First,  that  colored  soldiers  ought  to  receive  the 
same  wages  as  those  paid  to  white  soldiers.     Sec- 


LIFE    OF   FREDERICK   DOUGLASS.  53 

end,  that  colored  soldiers  ought  to  receive  the 
same  protection  when  taken  prisoners,  and  be 
exchanged  as  readily,  and  on  the  same  terms,  as 
other  prisoners,  and  if  Jefferson  Davis  should 
shoot  or  hang  colored  soldiers  in  cold  blood,  the 
United  States  government  should  retaliate  in 
kind  and  degree  without  delay  upon  Confederate 
prisoners  in  its  h^nds.  Third,  when  colored  sol- 
diers, seeking  the  '  bauble  reputation  at  the  can- 
non's mouth,'  performed  great  and  uncommon 
service  on  the  battlefield,  they  should  be  rewarded 
by  distinction  and  promotion  precisely  as  white 
soldiers  are  rewarded  for  like  services." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  impressed  with  the  argument 
of  Mr.  Douglass,  and  in  his  reply  spoke  encour- 
agingly of  the  intentions  of  the  administration. 
After  this  interview  with  the  president,  and  a 
subsequent  one  with  Secretary  Stanton,  Mr. 
Douglass  felt  encouraged  and  went  away  feeling 
assured  that  the  government  would,  as  fast  as  con- 
ditions warranted,  deal  justly  by  the  colored  soldier. 

He  was  one  of  the  crowd  that  listened  to  the 
second  inauguration  address  of  President  Lin- 
coln. In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  he  at- 
tended the  president's  reception.  No  colored 
person  had  hitherto  presented  himself  on  such  an 
occasion.  When  conducted  to  the  president's 
room,  Mr.  Lincoln  received  him  with  marks  of 
great  respect  and  attention. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Continued  Literary  Efforts.  —  Freedmen's 
Bank. — Official  Career  in  Washington. — 
Visit  to  his  Old  Maryland  Home. 

After  the  war  closed  and  the  country  had  re- 
turned to  pursuits  of  peace,  Mr.  Douglass  began 
to  think  of  what  calling  he  should  follow.  His 
great  life  work,  the  abolition  of  slavery,  had  been 
accomplished,  and  it  seemed  that  now  there  was 
little  for  him  to  do.  He  had  about  made  up  his 
mind  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  farm- 
ing, when  invitations  came  to  him  to  deliver  lec- 
tures before  colleges  and  literary  societies.  Thus 
a  new  vocation  was  opened  to  him,  by  which  he 
might  improve  his  knowledge  and  better  his 
pecuniary  condition.  While  employed  by  the 
Anti-Slavery  Society  he  had  been  paid  a  salary  of 
$450  a  year,  now  he  was  offered  $100  and  often 
$200  for  one  lecture. 

Mr.  Douglass  early  saw  that  the  greatest  pro- 
tection of  the  colored  man  after  emancipation 
w^ould  be  the  ballot — in  fact,  it  would  prove  his 
only  safety  ;  he,  therefore,  was  among  the  very 
first  to  begin  the  agitation  of  the  question,  suf- 
frage for  the  negro.  This  question  was  discussed 
in  the  National  Loyalists'  Convention,  which  was 


U.  S.  GRANT. 


LIBRARY 

MUSEUM  OF  AFRICAN  ARf 
318-A  STREET,  NORTHEAST 
WASHINGTON,  D.C.     "0002 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  55 

held  in  Philadelphia  in  1866.  Mr.  Douglass,  as  a 
delegate  from  Rochester,  attended  this  gathering 
and  made  an  earnest  speech,  urging  a  free  and 
untrammeled  ballot  to  all  citizens  of  the  country. 
The  convention,  though  divided  at  first  in  opin- 
ion, before  it  adjourned  passed  resolutions  favor- 
ing the  enfranchisement  of  the  freedman.  The 
question  grew  rapidly  in  public  favor.  President 
Grant  recommended  the  measure  to  Congress, 
and  erelong  the  ballot  was  made  secure  to  the 
negro  by  the  adoption  of  the  15th  amendment  to 
the  constitution. 

In  the  year  1869,  having  been  induced  by  some 
friends,  Mr.  Douglass  came  to  Washington  and 
established  the  New  National  Era  newspaper. 
This  paper  was  finally  turned  over  to  his  sons, 
Lewis  and  Frederick. 

About  this  time  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Freedmen's  Bank,  an  institution  intended  as  a 
secure  depository  for  the  savings  of  the  colored 
people.  The  intentions  of  the  founders  of  this 
organization  were  no  doubt  good,  but  by  bad 
management  the  bank  was  brought  to  ruin.  Mr. 
Douglass  had  previously  been  elected  a  trustee 
of  this  corporation,  while  residing  in  Rochester, 
and  had  attended  a  few  of  its  meetings,  but  he 
knew  nothing  personally  of  its  true  condition. 
He  himself  says:  "About  four  months  before  this 
splendid  institution  was  compelled   to  close  its 


56  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

doors  in  the  starved  and  deluded  faces  of  its 
depositors,  and  while  I  was  assured  by  its  presi- 
dent and  by  its  secretary  of  its  sound  condition,  I 
was  solicited  by  some  of  its  trustees  to  allow  them 
to  use  my  name  in  the  board  as  a  candidate  for 
its  presidency.  So  I  waked  up  one  morning  to 
find  myself  seated  in  a  comfortable  arm-chair, 
with  gold  spectacles  on  my  nose,  and  to  hear 
myself  addressed  as  President  of  the  Freedmen's 
Bank.  I  could  not  help  reflecting  on  the  con- 
trast between  Frederick  the  slave  boy,  running 
about  at  Colonel  Lloyd's  with  only  a  tow  linen 
shirt  to  cover  him,  and  Frederick,  president  of  a 
bank,  counting  its  assets  by  millions.  I  had 
heard  of  golden  dreams,  but  such  dreams  had  no 
comparison  with  this  reality.  And  yet  this  seem- 
ing reality  was  scarcely  more  substantial  than  a 
dream.  My  term  of  service  on  this  golden  height 
covered  only  the  brief  space  of  three  months." 
Mr.  Douglass,  when  he  found  out  by  careful  in- 
vestigation the  facts  in  reference  to  the  condition 
of  the  bank,  to  use  his  own  words,  when  he  dis- 
covered that  he  was  "  married  to  a  corpse,"  he 
immediately  went  before  the  Senate  Finance 
Committee,  of  which  Hon.  John  Sherman  was 
chairman,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
bank  was  insolvent  and  could  not  recover  from 
its  losses.  The  committee  took  the  same  view 
and  immediately  three  commissioners    were   ap- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  57 

pointed  by  Congress  to  wind  up  the  affairs  of  the 
company. 

Mr.  Douglass  was  sent  by  President  Grant 
with  Messrs.  Wade,  Howe,  and  White,  commis- 
sioners to  Hayti.  He  took  the  position  with 
General  Grant  in  favor  of  annexation  of  that 
country  to  the  United  States.  Mr.  Sumner  cham- 
pioned the  opposite  view  in  the  Senate  and  held 
that  annexation  meant  the  extinction  of  the  Hay- 
tian  people  as  such.  Mr.  Douglass  held  that  a 
union  would  give  protection  to  the  weaker  state 
and  prosperity  beyond  what  it  could  ever  enjoy 
as  a  separate  government.  On  this  question  the 
opinion  of  the  country  was  divided.  There  were 
strong  arguments  used  for  and  against  the  scheme. 

In  the  year  1872  General  Grant  was  nominated 
a  second  time  for  the  presidency.  The  indepen- 
dent republicans,  dissatisfied  with  his  administra- 
tion, nominated  Horace  Greeley.  In  the  national 
convention  of  colored  men  held  in  New  Orleans 
in  the  same  year,  over  which  Mr.  Douglass  pre- 
sided, an  effort  was  made  to  get  that  body  to 
indorse  the  independent  candidate.  Mr.  Doug- 
lass used  his  influence  to  prevent  such  action, 
and  had  he  not  been  present  it  is  probable  that 
the  convention  would  have  passed  resolutions 
indorsing  Mr.  Greeley  for  the  presidency.  Hav- 
ing been  chosen  an  elector  at  large  of  the  state 
of  New  York  on  the  Republican  ticket,  he  was 


58  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

commissioned  by  the  electoral  college  of  the 
state  to  carry  the  vote  to  the  capitol  at  Wash- 
ington. 

Mr.  Douglass  had  been  appointed  by  President 
Grant  in  his  first  term  a  member  of  the  council 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  but  was  compelled,  by 
the  pressure  of  other  duties,  to  resign  after  a 
short  time,  and  his  son  Lewis  was  appointed  to 
the  position.  When  Mr.  Hayes  became  presi- 
dent, he  appointed  Mr.  Douglass  marshal  of  the 
district.  Immediately  a  great  cry  was  made 
against  this  act  of  the  president,  and  representa- 
tives of  the  bar  appeared  before  the  Senate  com- 
mittee for  the  purpose  of  defeating  his  confirma- 
tion. Mr.  Conkling,  then  a  member  of  the  Senate, 
in  executive  session,  made  an  able  speech  in  sup- 
port of  Mr.  Douglass.  Other  members  came  to 
his  aid,  and  the  Senate  promptly  confirmed  the 
appointment.  One  of  the  objections  made  to 
Mr.  Douglass  holding  the  office  of  marshal  was 
that  he  would  be  required  to  introduce  guests  to 
the  president  on  state  occasions.  But  this  duty 
did  not  by  law  devolve  upon  that  officer.  The 
president  could  as  well  designate  any  other  officer 
at  the  capital  to  perform  such  service.  Mr. 
Douglass  did,  however,  introduce  to  President 
Hayes  during  his  term  of  office  many  distin- 
guished persons,  and  he  on  such  occasions  was 
always  treated  with  the  greatest  courtesy  by  this 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 


Life  of  Frederick  Douglass.  59 

chief  magistrate.  Great  credit  should  be  given 
Mr.  Hayes  for  the  courage  he  displayed  in  ap- 
pointing Mr.  Douglass  in  opposition  to  the  wishes 
of  the  pro-slavery  sentiment  of  the  District,  and 
that  he  could  not  be  induced  to  revoke  the  ap- 
pointment. 

It  had  long  been  the  cherished  desire  of  Mr. 
Douglass  to  visit  his  old  Maryland  home.  Dur- 
ing slavery  times  he  did  not  think  it  safe  to  gratify 
his  wishes  in  this  respect.  The  opportunity  to 
do  so,  however,  presented  itself  while  he  was 
holding  this  office.  He  went  first  to  St.  Michael's 
upon  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Charles  Caldwell,  a 
colored  man.  Arriving  there  he  was  invited  by 
his  old  master,  Captain  Auld,  now  eighty  years 
of  age,  to  visit  him,  he  at  this  time  being  on  his 
deathbed.  When  Mr.  Douglass  entered  the 
room  in  which  the  sick  man  lay,  the  captain  ad- 
dressed him  as  Marshal  Douglass  and  treated 
him  with  great  respect.  The  interview  was  a 
most  affecting  one,  but  lasted  only  a  few  minutes, 
owing  to  the  weak  condition  of  the  aged  veteran. 
Mr.  Douglass  while  in  this  neighborhood  also  vis- 
ited the  Eastern  jail,  where  in  youth  he  had  been 
confined  with  other  slaves  for  attempting  to  run 
away  from  their  masters. 

He  some  time  after  paid  a  visit  to  the  Lloyd 
plantation  in  Talbot  county,  which  he  left  when 
he  was  only  eight  years  old,  in  1B25,     He  ther| 


6o  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

met  with  the  kindest  reception  from  the  Lloyds, 
who  were  still  living  on  the  premises.  He  was 
entertained  in  the  old  family  mansion ;  was  es- 
corted over  the  grounds,  saw  the  buildings,  many 
of  them  standing  just  as  he  was  accustomed  to 
see  them  in  former  times.  He  conversed  with 
many  of  the  colored  people  who  were  children 
when  he  was  a  boy,  and  whom  he  then  knew; 
looked  into  the  kitchen  where  he  had  last  seen 
his  mother,  and  his  eyes  grew  dim  with  tears.  He 
visited  the  family  burying-ground,  and  while  there 
Mr.  Howard  Lloyd  kindly  presented  him  a  bou- 
quet of  flowers,  taken  from  the  graves  of  those  he 
had  known  in  his  childhood  days. 

Mr.  Douglass,  on  Decoration  day.  May  30, 
1 88 1,  was  invited  to  deliver  his  lecture  on  John 
Brown  at  Storer  College,  an  institution  established 
in  the  interest  of  the  colored  race  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  West  Virginia.  On  the  platform  sat  An- 
drew J.  Hunter,  who  was  the  prosecuting  attorney 
when  the  old  hero  was  convicted.  He  applauded 
parts  of  the  lecturer's  remarks  heartily.  Truly  the 
times  had  changed,  and  the  sentiments  and  feel- 
ings of  that  community  had  changed  with  them. 

When  Mr.  Garfield,  in  1881,  became  president, 
Mr.  Douglass  was  appointed  recorder  of  deeds 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  which  position  he 
held  till  the  appointment  of  Mr.  James  C.  Mat- 
thews, in  the  spring  of  1886. 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Banquet  in  Recognition   of   his  Public  Serv- 
ices.— The  Douglass  in  his  Hall. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1883,  the  twentieth 
anniversary  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  a 
banquet  was  tendered  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass, 
in  recognition  of  his  high  personal  attainments, 
and  of  his  eminent  public  services  in  behalf  of 
his  race  and  humanity,  at  Freund's,  Washington, 
D.  C.  The  entertainment  was  not  only  a  social 
event  of  unusual  interest,  but  one  worthy  of  the 
occasion.  No  more  brilliant  array  of  talent  has 
ever  assembled  to  do  honor  to  a  great  man  of  our 
race.  The  tables  were  beautifully  decorated,  and 
laden  with  the  choicest  viands.  They  were  so 
arranged  as  to  group  the  company  about  the 
distinguished  guest,  who  sat  at  the  head  of  the 
central  table.  There  were  present  doctors  of 
divinity,  bishops,  lawyers,  doctors  of  medicine, 
members  of  Congress  and  northern  state  legisla- 
tures, professors  of  colleges,  authors,  and  editors 
of  newspapers. 

After  prayer  by  Bishop  John  M.  Brown,  the 
company  spent  two  hours  in  partaking  of  the 
excellent  dinner  placed  before  them.  It  was  ten 
o'clock  when  ex-Senator  Bruce  introduced   Mr. 


62        LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

Douglass  in  an  appropriate  and  eulogistic  ad- 
dress, closing  with  these  words  :  "  I  now,  gentle- 
men, have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  Frederick 
Douglass,  the  distinguished  guest  of  this  happy 
occasion,  whose  fame  as  an  orator  and  an  earnest 
and  effective  worker  in  the  cause  of  human  lib- 
erty is  not  confined  to  one  continent,  but  known 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  whose  name 
is  a  household  word,  cherished  and  loved  by  mil- 
lions who,  from  writhing  under  the  cruel  chains 
of  slavery,  have  at  last  been  brought  into  the 
bright  sunlight  of  freedom.  He  will  now  respond 
to  the  toast,  *  The  Day,'  this,  the  twentieth  anni- 
versary of  the  one  fixed  by  the  sainted  Lincoln, 
when  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  should  go 
into  full  force  and  effect." 

In  responding  to  the  sentiment  Mr.  Douglass 
said  : — 

"  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,  since  you  have 
taken  me  into  your  confidence,  my  life,  as  most  of 
you  know,  was  begun  under  a  great  shadow. 
Before  I  was  made  part  of  this  breathing  world 
the  chains  were  forged  for  my  limbs,  and  the  whip 
of  a  slave  master  was  plaited  for  my  back,  and 
while  I  have  labored  and  suffered  in  the  cause  of 
justice  and  liberty,  I  have  no  doleful  words  to 
utter  here  to-night.  It  was  said  of  a  great  Irish 
orator,  speaking  of  Irish  liberty,  that  he  had 
rocked  it  in  its  cradle  and  had  followed  it  to  its 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  63 

grave.  I  can  say  of  the  colored  man's  liberty,  I 
have  rocked  it  in  its  cradle  and  witnessed  its 
manhood,  for  I  stand  to-night  in  the  presence  of 
emancipated  millions.  He  would  be  a  gloomy 
man  indeed  who  could  live  to  see  the  desire  of  his 
soul  accomplished,  and  yet  spend  his  life  in  grief. 
I  am  happy  to  say  now  and  here  that  while  my 
life  has  been  more  of  cloud  than  sunshine,  more 
of  storm  than  calm,  it  has  nevertheless  been  a 
cheerful  life,  with  many  compensations  on  every 
hand,  and  not  the  least  among  those  compensa- 
tions, I  reckon  the  good  word  and  will  which 
have  come  to  me  on  the  present  occasion.  This 
high  festival  of  ours  is  coupled  with  a  day  which 
we  do  well  to  hold  in  sacred  and  everlasting 
honor,  a  day  memorable  alike  in  the  history  of 
the  nation  and  in  the  life  of  an  emancipated  peo- 
ple. This  is  the  twentieth  anniversary  of  the 
proclamation  of  emancipation  by  Abraham  Lin- 
coln— a  proclamation  which  made  the  name  of  its 
author  immortal  and  glorious  throughout  the 
civilized  world.  That  great  act  of  his  marked  an 
epoch  in  the  life  of  the  whole  American  nation. 
Reflection  upon  it  opens  to  us  a  vast  wilderness 
of  thought  and  feeling.  Man  is  said  to  be  an 
animal  looking  before  and  after.  To  him  alone 
is  given  the  prophetic  vision,  enabling  him  to  dis- 
cern the  outline  of  his  future  through  the  mists 
and  shadows  of  the  past.     The  day  we  celebrate 


64  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

affords  us  an  eminence  from  which  we  may  in  a 
measure  survey  both  the  past  and  the  future.  It 
is  one  of  those  days  which  may  well  count  for  a 
thousand  years. 

"  Until  this  day  twenty  years  ago  there  was  a 
vast  incubus  on  the  breast  of  the  American  peo- 
ple, which  baffled  all  the  wisdom  of  American 
statesmanship.  Slavery,  the  sum  of  all  villainies, 
like  a  vulture,  was  gnawing  at  the  republic.  Until 
this  day  there  stretched  away  behind  us  an  awful 
chasm  of  darkness  and  despair  of  more  than  two 
centuries.  Until  this  day  the  American  slave, 
bound  in  chains,  tossed  his  fettered  hands  on  high 
and  groaned  for  freedom's  gift  in  vain.  Until 
this  day  the  colored  people  of  the  United  States 
lived  in  the  shadow  of  death,  hell,  and  the  grave, 
and  had  no  visible  future. 

"  'Agonized  heart  throbs  convulsed  them  while  sleeping, 

And  the  wind  whispered  death,  while  over  them  sweeping.'  " 

"Until  this  day  we  knew  not  when  or  how 
the  war  for  the  union  would  end  ;  until  this  day 
it  was  doubtful  whether  liberty  and  union  would 
triumph,  or  slavery  and  barbarism.  Until  this 
day  victory  had  largely  followed  the  arms  of  the 
Confederate  army.  Until  this  day  the  mighty 
conflict  between  the  North  and  South  appeared 
to  the  eye  of  the  civilized  world,  as  destitute  of 
moral  qualities.  Until  this  day  the  sympathies  of 
the  world  were  largely  in  favor  of  the  Southern 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  65 

rebellion.  Until  this  day  the  man  of  sable  hue 
had  no  country  and  no  glory.  Until  this  day  he 
was  not  permitted  to  lift  a  sword,  to  carry  a  gun, 
or  wear  the  United  States  uniform.  Until  this 
day  the  armies  of  the  republic  fought  the  rebels 
in  fetters,  for  they  fought  for  slavery  as  well  as 
for  the  union.  Until  this  day  we  presented  the 
spectacle  of  that  weakness,  indecision,  and  blind- 
ness which  builds  up  with  one  hand  while  it  tears 
down  with  the  other.  Until  this  day  we  fought 
the  rebels  with  only  one  hand,  while  we  chained 
and  pinioned  the  other  behind  us.  On  this  day, 
twenty  years  ago,  thanks  to  Abraham  Lincoln 
and  the  great  statesmen  by  whom  he  was  sup- 
ported, this  spell  of  blasted  hopes  and  despair, 
this  spell  of  inconsistency  and  weakness,  was 
broken,  and  our  government  became  consistent, 
logical,  and  strong,  for  from  this  hour  slavery  was 
doomed,  liberty  made  certain,  and  the  union  estab- 
lished. 

"  We  do  well  to  commemorate  this  day.  It  was 
the  first  gray  streak  of  morning  after  a  long  and 
troubled  night  of  all  abounding  horrors. 

"  The  future  as  well  as  the  past  claims  consid- 
eration on  this  day.  Freedom  has  brought  duties, 
responsibilities,  and  created  expectations  which 
must  be  fulfilled.  There  is  no  disguising  the 
fact  that  the  price  of  liberty  is  eternal  vigilance, 
and,  if  we  maintain  our  high  estate  in  this  repub- 


66  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

lie,  we  must  be  something  more  than  driftwood 
in  a  stream.  We  must  keep  pace  with  the  nation 
in  all  that  goes  to  make  a  nation  great,  glorious, 
and  free.  Natural  equality  we  have  long  pleaded, 
and  righteously,  but  now  that  the  fetters  are  off, 
we  must  be  able  to  plead  practical  equality,  equal- 
ity of  industr}^,  equality  of  morality,  equality  of 
education,  equality  of  wealth,  equality  of  general 
attainments.  I  hardly  need  say  here  that  to  all 
this  there  are  formidable  obstacles  and  discour- 
agements ;  that  we  have  entered  the  race  of  civil- 
ization at  an  immense  disadvantage  is  manifest  to 
the  candid  judgment  of  all  men.  No  people  ever 
entered  the  portals  of  freedom  under  circum- 
stances more  unpropitious  than  the  American 
freedmen.  They  were  flung  overboard  on  an 
unknown  sea  in  the  midst  of  a  storm,  without 
planks,  ropes,  oars,  or  life  preservers,  and  told  they 
must  swim  or  perish.  They  were  without  money, 
without  friends,  without  shelter,  and  without 
bread.  The  land  which  they  had  watered  with 
their  tears,  enriched  with  their  blood,  tilled  with 
their  hard  hands,  was  owned  by  their  enemies. 
They  were  told  to  leave  their  old  quarters  and 
seek  food  and  shelter  elsewhere.  In  view  of  this 
condition  of  things  the  marvel  is  not  so  much 
that  they  have  made  little  progress,  but  that  they 
are  not  exterminated.  I  regret  to  observe  that 
even   colored  men    are  heard  to  deny   that  any 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  67 

improvement  has  taken  place  in  their  condition 
during  the  last  twenty  years.  How  they  can  do 
this  I  am  utterly  unable  to  see.  Twenty  years 
ago  there  was  perhaps  not  a  single  schoolhouse 
for  colored  children  in  the  Southern  states.  Now 
there  are  two  hundred  thousand  colored  children 
regularly  attending  school  in  those  states. 

"  That  fact,  which  does  not  stand  alone,  is  suffi- 
cient to  refute  all  the  gloomy  stories  of  croakers 
as  to  the  progress  of  the  colored  freedmen  of  the 
South.  The  trouble  with  these  croakers  is  that 
they  do  not  consider  the  point  of  the  freedmen's 
departure.  They  know  the  heights  which  they 
have  still  to  reach,  but  do  not  measure  the  depths 
from  which  they  have  come. 

"  Twenty  years,  though  a  long  time  in  the  life  of 
an  individual,  is  but  a  moment  in  the  life  of  a 
nation,  and  no  final  judgment  can  be  predicated 
of  facts  transpiring  within  that  limited  period. 

"  For  one,  I  can  say  in  conclusion  that  nothing 
has  occurred  within  these  twenty  years  which  has 
dimmed  my  hopes  or  caused  me  to  doubt  that  the 
emancipated  people  of  this  country  will  avail 
themselves  of  their  opportunities ;  and  by  enter- 
prise, industry,  invention,  discovery,  and  manly 
character  vindicate  the  confidence  of  their  friends, 
and  put  to  silence  and  to  shame  the  gloomy  pre- 
dictions of  all  their  enemies." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Doug- 


68  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

lass  rapturous  applause  followed,  many  of  the 
guests  rising  from  their  seats  and  coming  for- 
ward to  congratulate  the  venerable  orator.  After 
a  few  minutes  the  speaking  continued.  The  fol- 
lowing gentlemen,  in  short  speeches,  responded 
to  sentiments :  Hon.  John  R.  Lynch  of  Mis- 
sissippi, Colored  Men  in  the  South  ;  Hon.  John 
P.  Green  of  the  Ohio  legislature,  The  Colored 
Man  as  a  Legislator ;  Rev.  B.  T.  Tanner,  D.D., 
The  Negro  Press ;  Hon.  George  W.  Williams, 
The  Negro  Author ;  T.  Thomas  Fortune  of  the 
New  York  Globe,  Independent  Journalism;  Prof. 
R.  T.  Greener,  The  Negro's  Adherence  to  the 
Republican  Party;  Hon.  Robert  Smalls  of  South 
Carolina,  The  Exodus  from  the  South ;  Prof. 
J.  M.  Gregory,  The  Color  Line  ;  Bishop  John  M. 
Brown,  The  A.  M.  E.  Church  ;  William  E.  Mat- 
thews, The  Orator  and  Orators ;  Dr.  John  R. 
Francis,  The  Profession  of  ^Medicine  ;  Jesse  Law- 
son,  Our  Presiding  Officer;  J.  B.  Devaux,  The 
Ladies ;  E.  M.  Hewlett,  Life  Insurance,  its  Ne- 
cessity;  G.  W.  Cook,  Howard  University;  Judge 
Samuel  Lee  of  South  Carolina,  Co-operation ; 
J.  H.  Green  of  Mississippi,  The  Slater  Fund ; 
R.  J.  Smith,  Disunion,  Consequent  Weakness; 
W.  H.  Richards,  The  Profession  of  the  Law ; 
Joseph  Brooks,  William  Lloyd  Garrison ;  Dr. 
E.  W.  Blyden,  The  Republic  of  Liberia. 

At  one  time  while  the  speaking  was  in  progress 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  69 

Mr.  Douglass  became  so  impressed  with  what 
was  said  that  he  rose  of  his  own  accord  and 
deHvered  one  of  his  old  time  speeches,  full  of  fiery 
eloquence,  in  which  he  contrasted  his  past  life 
with  that  of  the  young  men  before  him,  and  con- 
cluded his  impromptu  remarks  with  an  earnest 
appeal  to  the  youth  to  make  the  most  of  their 
opportunities,  show  themselves  worthy  of  the 
great  privileges  they  enjoy  and  equal  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  age.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Douglass  had 
resumed  his  seat  Professor  R.  T.  Greener  pro- 
posed three  cheers  for  the  "  Old  Man  Eloquent," 
which  were  given  with  a  hearty  good  will. 

Before  the  company  separated.  Dr.  B.  T.  Tan- 
ner of  the  Christian  Recorder  approached  Mr. 
Charles  R.  Douglass,  son  of  the  guest  of  the  even- 
ing, and,  in  the  hearing  of  the  writer,  made  this 
remark  which  v/e  think  will  prove  of  prophetic 
import :  "  From  the  fact  that  this  company  is  made 
up  chiefly  of  young  men,  we  may  conclude  that 
the  future  of  your  venerable  father  is  secure.  He 
who  can  command  the  fealty  of  the  men  of  his 
own  generation  is  only  secure  in  his  reputation 
while  they  survive  ;  but  he  who  has  the  strength 
or  fitness  to  command  the  fealty  of  the  genera- 
tion coming  immediately  after  him,  may  count 
the  future  as  secure." 

Thus  the  entertainment  was  agreeably  pro- 
longed by  speaking  and  conversation,  till  the  late- 


70  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

ness  of  the  hour  brought  the  proceedings  to  a 
close,  and  the  guests  retired  feehng  that  they  had 
spent  a  pleasant  and  profitable  evening. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Visit  Abroad. — Return  Home  and  Reception. 
— Minister  Resident  and  Consul  Gen- 
eral TO  Hayti. 

For  some  time  prior  to  his  retirement  from 
public  office,  Mr.  Douglass  had  contemplated  a 
trip  to  Great  Britain  and  other  countries  of  the 
old  world.  He  desired  to  know  more  of  their  peo- 
ple, their  government,  and  institutions.  Being 
released  from  the  cares  and  responsibilities  im- 
posed by  official  life,  he  gladly  welcomed  the 
opportunity  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  his  first  two 
journeys  abroad,  and  to  extend  his  travels  to 
classic  Athens,  historic  Rome,  Paris,  the  most 
elegant  city  of  the  world,  free  Switzerland,  the 
home  of  the  legendary  hero,  William  Tell,  Ger- 
many, the  country  of  scholars,  and  Egypt,  the 
land  of  pyramids  and  hieroglyphics.  Having 
made  all  preparations  for  the  voyage,  he  and  Mrs. 
Douglass,  in  September,  1886,  left  New  York  for 
Liverpool  on  the  steamer  City  of  Rome. 

He  returned  to  the  United  States  after  a  year's 
absence,  and  on  his  arrival  in  Washington  was 
tendered  a  public  reception  by  his  fellow  citizens 
in  the  Metropolitan  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  that  city,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 


72  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK   DOUGLASS. 

handsome  edifices  owned  by  colored  people  in 
the  country.  The  church,  beautifully  and  taste- 
fully decorated  with  flags  and  bunting,  was  illu- 
minated with  lights  of  various  colors.  Rev.  Dr. 
T.  G.  Stewart  presided.  After  music  by  the 
choir  of  the  church.  Rev.  Walter  Brooks  recited 
the  following  original  poem: — 

ODE  OF  WELCOME. 
Honor  the  statesman  now  returning 
From  the  shores  of  France  and  Spain, 
From  the  British  Isles  and  mainland. 
To  his  native  home  again. 

Honor  the  man  whose  potent  speeches 
In  the  world  both  old  and  new, 
Now  for  him  a  fame  undying 
Made  the  bondman  friends  most  true. 

Honor  the  old  man  in  his  glory, 
Read  the  story  of  his  life, 
Tell  it  to  your  sons  and  daughters 
Till  they  feel  the  bitter  strife. 

Strife  for  freedom,  land,  and  manhood, 
Strife  for  all  the  rights  of  men, 
Hold  him  up  the  friend  of  letters, 
In  his  threescore  years  and  ten. 

Hold  him  up  a  people's  leader, 
In  the  struggle  which  we  wage 
'Gainst  oppression  dark  and  cruel,    . 
Honor  him,  the  prince  and  sage. 

Honor  him,  and  hail  him  welcome, 
Welcome  Frederick  Douglass  here, 
Where  he  made  long  fight  for  freedom, 
Wielding  tongue  of  fire  e'er. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  73 

Honor  him  with  shouts  of  gladness, 
Bid  the  nation  honor,  too, 
For  in  him  the  cause  of  justice 
Finds  a  champion  strong  and  true. 

Champion  of  the  rights  of  all  men. 
What  their  color,  what  their  clime, 
Does  not  matter — he  is  loyal. 
Honor  him,  the  Old  Sublime  ! 

Honor  to  him  and  praise  Jehovah, 
Who  from  bondage  called  him  out, 
To  deliver  from  their  thraldom 
Christ's  own  people,  true,  devout. 

Honor  him,  though  seeing  never, 
Angels  sent  to  break  his  chains. 
Bidding  him  to  flee  his  serfdom. 
And  command  a  living  name. 

Angels  sent  to  guide  his  footsteps 
And  to  clothe  his  tongue  with  speech. 
Touch  his  heart  with  fire  from  heaven. 
While  he  freedom  bravely  preach. 

Honor  him,  God's  chosen  prophet, 
Sent  against  his  people  vile. 
Who  for  sordid  gain  in  barter. 
Did  themselves  with  blood  defile. 

Blood  of  their  own  brothers  bleeding. 
Bleeding  under  chain  and  lash, 
As  they  toiled  and  prayed  and  waited, 
Freedom's  coming,  slavery's  crash. 

Honor  him,  the  people's  hero, 
Praying  God  might  make  it  plain 
That  the  blow  he  struck  for  freedom 
Was  God's  wrath  unloosed  again. 


74  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Wrath  that  burned  like  fire  consuming, 
Till  this  nation  rent  in  twain, 
On  the  issue  denouncing  bondage, 
With  its  blood  washed  out  the  stain. 

Mr.  Brooks  having  concluded  his  poem,  which 
throughout  the  recital  pleased  and  entertained 
the  audience,  Professor  W.  S.  Montgomery,  in 
scholarly  language,  made  the  opening  address,  and 
then  Rev.  C.  W.  Handy  welcomed  the  distin- 
guished guest  in  the  following  eloquent  words : — 

"  Mr.  Douglass,  permit  me  on  behalf  and  in  the 
name  of  your  fellow  citizens,  not  only  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  but  of  our  common  country,  to 
most  cordially  congratulate  you  upon  your  safe 
return  to  the  land  of  your  home,  to  the  scenes  of 
your  labors,  the  old  arena  of  your  almost  match- 
less triumphs. 

"  Honored  sir,  we  come  to  greet  you,  we  come  to 
talk  and  have  you  talk  with  us,  we  come  as  old 
friends,  as  good  neighbors,  to  shake  your  honest 
hand  and  to  congratulate  you  on  your  return 
home  from  England,  France,  Germany,  from  all 
Europe,  from  Egypt  and  the  dark  continent. 
Again,  sir,  we  welcome  you  to  your  home,  your 
family,  and  to  your  friends.  Long  may  you  live, 
far  and  wide  may  your  influence  and  usefulness 
be  felt,  ever  may  you  be  under  the  fostering  care 
of  the  great  I  Am,  until  time  with  you  shall  emerge 
into  the  ocean  of  eternity.     I  now  take  great  pleas- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  75 

ure  in  introducing  to  you  Hon.  Frederick  Doug- 
lass." 

So  hearty  and  continued  was  the  applause  after 
Mr.  Handy's  address,  that  it  was  some  minutes  be- 
fore Mr.  Douglass  could  proceed  with  his  address. 
At  length  quiet  being  restored  he  came  forward 
and  said : — 

"  Friends,  this  is  indeed  an  honor  which  I  had 
not  expected.  I  am  certainly  a  very  proud  man 
to-night.  Who  would  not  be  proud  at  such  a 
grand  ovation  as  this  ?  I  thank  you  with  all  my 
heart ;  you  want  to  hear  something  about  my  trip 
to  Europe  and  to  Egypt,  etc.  Well,  I  will  com- 
mence at  the  starting  point.  The  passage  from 
New  York  to  Liverpool  on  the  splendid  steamer 
City  of  Rome,  the  largest  ship  afloat  except  the 
Great  Eastern,  was  exceedingly  pleasant.  The 
winds  and  waves  were  in  their  most  amiable  mood, 
and  we  made  the  voyage  from  land  to  land  in  seven 
days.  In  nothing  has  there  been  more  progress 
and  improvement  than  in  naval  architecture  and 
in  navigation.  Five  and  forty  years  ago  fourteen 
days  was  a  short  trip  from  New  York  to  Liver- 
pool— now  it  can  be  made  in  six  days.  Fifty 
years  ago  the  great  scientist,  Dyonisius  Lardner, 
proved  by  facts  and  figures  to  his  own  satisfac- 
tion, that  no  vessel  could  carry  enough  coal  to 
propel  her  across  the  Atlantic,  but  theories  amount 
to  nothing  against  facts  accomplished.     The  City 


76  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

of  Rome  consumes  a  ton  of  coat  every  five  min- 
utes during  her  voyages.  She  has  sixty  furnaces 
and  a  crew,  including  all  hands,  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  persons.  To  walk  her  decks  is  like 
walking  a  populous  street ;  she  is  a  small  town, 
not  on  wheels,  but  on  the  waves.  Our  voyage  to 
Liverpool  was  marked  by  two  incidents  in  which 
you  will  be  interested,  since  they  illustrate  the 
gradual  wearing  away  of  race  prejudice.  There 
was  on  board  the  Rev.  Henry  Wayland,  son  of 
the  great  Dr.  Wayland,  late  president  of  Brown 
University.  Mr.  Wayland  had  known  me  years 
ago,  and  had  been  my  friend  in  Rochester.  He 
is  one  of  God's  freemen.  Through  him  I  was 
made  known  to  many  of  the  passengers,  and  this 
resulted  in  a  strong  invitation  to  address  the  pas- 
sengers in  the  saloon,  with  which  I  complied. 
After  this  I  was  called  upon  by  Capt.  Monroe  to 
move  a  vote  of  thanks  in  a  brief  speech  to  Lord 
Porchester,  who  had  presided  at  a  concert  given 
in  the  grand  saloon  by  some  talented  musicians ; 
thus  my  privacy  was  at  an  end,  and  I  had  much 
talking  to  do  which  I  could  not  avoid.  The  con- 
trast between  the  treatment  I  received  during  this 
voyage  and  that  of  forty  years  ago,  was  as  strik- 
ing as  it  was  gratifying.  Then  I  could  not  obtain 
a  first-class  passage — even  on  a  British  steamship 
— and  was  compelled  to  go  in  the  forward  cabin. 
Now  I  found  myself  not  only  welcome  in  the  first 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  7/ 

cabin,  but  treated  by  everybody  with  special  marks 
of  interest  and  esteem.  It  is  true,  that  although 
I  belonged  in  the  forward  cabin  forty  years  ago, 
I  made  many  friends  during  that  voyage,  and  was 
then,  as  on  the  late  voyage,  invited  to  deliver  an 
address  on  the  saloon  deck  of  the  Cambria,  but  I 
did  not  comply  till  invited  to  do  so  by  the  cap- 
tain. There  were  several  slaveholders  on  board, 
and  a  number  of  dough-faces  from  the  North.  I 
had  hardly  been  speaking  ten  minutes  when  one 
of  the  wildest,  bitterest,  and  most  devilish  rows 
occurred  that  I  ever  saw.  It  was  only  put  down 
by  the  captain  calling  upon  the  boatswain  to  bring 
up  the  irons  and  threatening  to  put  anyone  in 
irons  who  dared  to  disturb  me.  A  most  unfair 
account  of  this  outbreak  of  pro-slavery  violence 
has  gone  into  the  history  of  the  Cunard  line,  de- 
nouncing me  as  the  cause  of  the  disturbance  on 
the  same  principle  that  the  slaves  used  to  be 
denounced  as  the  cause  of  the  war.  The  fact  is, 
slaveholders  at  that  time  were  dictators  on  sea 
and  land,  and  the  Cunard  line,  although  flying  the 
British  flag,  found  it  for  their  interest  to  yield  to 
slaveholding  dictation,  but  I  believe  I  am  the  last 
man  of  color  proscribed  on  the  Cunard  line.  I 
made  such  a  noise  in  England  about  it  at  the  time 
that  Samuel  Cunard  himself  publicly  declared 
that  there  should  be  no  more  proscription  on  his 
ships  on  account  of  race  and  color.     Contempla- 


"jdf  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

tion  of  the  forces  of  nature  is  enlarging.  Stand- 
ing on  the  deck  of  the  City  of  Rome,  and  moving 
among  its  company  of  passengers  so  unHke  in 
appearance  and  character,  and  then  looking  out 
upon  the  broad,  dashing  billows  of  the  Atlantic, 
suggested  to  my  mind  the  formula  that  the  types 
of  mankind  are  various.  They  differ  like  the 
waves,  but  are  one  like  the  sea. 

The  Home  Rule  Question. 

The  features  of  Eno-land  are  too  well  known  to 
justify  me  in  saying  much  about  my  sojourn  in 
that  country.  It  is  common  nowadays  to  speak 
of  England  as  a  declining  power  in  comparison 
with  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  there  may  be  truth 
in  that  representation,  but  the  American  who 
travels  there  will  see  nothing  on  the  surface  to 
justify  that  conclusion.  Great  Britain,  though 
small  in  territory  and  limited  in  population,  as 
compared  with  our  republic,  is  still  Great  Britain 
— great  in  her  civilization,  great  in  physical  and 
mental  vigor,  great  in  her  statesmanship,  and 
great  in  her  elements  of  power  and  stability. 
The  question  uppermost  when  we  landed  there,  as 
when  we  left  there,  was  Home  Rule,  or  coercion 
for  Ireland.  No  question  of  modern  times  has 
stirred  England  so  deeply  as  this.  It  has  rent 
asunder  parties,  cast  down  leaders,  broken  up 
friendships,  and  divided  families  ;  men  who   have 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  79 

acted  together  in  politics  during  nearly  half  a 
century,  have  all  at  once  found  themselves  widely 
separated  on  this  vast  and  vital  question.  There 
is  much  strength  in  the  positions  of  each  party, 
as  in  the  case  of  our  maintenance  of  our  union. 
I  believe  that  good  order,  liberty,  and  civilization 
will  be  better  served  and  better  preserved  in  the 
union  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  than  outside 
of  it.  The  spirit  of  the  age  does  not  favor  small 
nationalities.  Extension,  organization,  unifica- 
tion, are  more  in  harmony  with  the  wisdom  of  the 
times.  The  trouble  in  Ireland,  however,  is  not 
its  limited  population^  its  destitution  of  states- 
men, or  its  inability  to  maintain  an  independent 
government,  but  that  there  is  in  reality  two  Ire- 
lands  ;  one  loyal  to  the  union,  and  the  other  anx- 
ious for  complete  separation.  The  loyal  part  of 
the  people  of  Ireland,  as  a  class,  are  Protestant,  and 
the  Home  Rule  men  are  largely  Catholic ;  so  just 
here  is  the  bitterest  element  in  the  British  polit- 
ical cauldron.  The  Tory  party  profess  to  see  in 
Home  Rule  the  entering  wedge  to  the  entire  sep- 
aration of  Ireland  from  England,  and  handing 
over  the  whole  loyal  Protestant  population  into 
the  power  of  the  hostile  Catholic — a  result  they 
look  upon  with  unaffected  horror.  It  is  this 
which  has  caused  even  the  generous  and  noble- 
minded  John  Bright  to  array  his  powerful  in- 
fluence against  Home  Rule,     A  Republican  in 


8o  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

his  sympathies  and  convictions,  he  yet  shrinks 
back  in  horror  from  applying  the  RepubHcan 
majority  rule  to  Ireland.  His  great  friend,  Mr. 
Gladstone,  hitherto  far  more  conservative  than 
Mr.  Bright,  has  no  such  scruples.  He  seems 
quite  willing  to  trust  the  fairness  and  justice  of 
the  majority.  He  is  bitterly  reproached  for  his 
change  of  front.  It  is  said  he  did  not  always 
hold  his  present  liberal  views  towards  Ireland, 
and  that  his  conversion  is  far  too  sudden  to  be 
genuine.  His  answer  to  this,  however,  seems  to  be 
honest,  statesmanlike,  and  conclusive.  He  tried 
coercion  for  Ireland  so  \onQ-  as  he  thousfht  coer- 
cion  the  only  remedy  for  the  ills  of  that  country. 
He  treated  Ireland  as  a  wise  physician  would 
treat  his  patient ;  having  his  health  steadily  in 
view,  when  he  found  that  one  course  of  treatment 
failed  to  restore  health,  he  tried  another.  His 
method  was  changed,  but  his  object,  never.  I 
hardly  need  say  that  I  am  in  sympathy  with 
Home  Rule  for  Ireland,  as  held  by  Mr.  Glad- 
stone ;  I  am  so,  both  for  the  sake  of  England  and 
for  the  sake  of  Ireland.  The  former  will  throw 
off  a  tremendous  load  both  in  money  and  in  repu- 
tation by  granting  it.  The  glory  of  England  will 
cease  to  be  soiled  with  shame  for  the  grievances 
of  Ireland,  and  Ireland  will  be  put  upon  her  good 
behavior  before  the  world,  and  made  responsible 
for  her  own  good  or  ill  condition.     Though  often 


CHARLES    SUMXER. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  8 1 

charged  with  seeking  the  dismemberment  of  the 
British  Empire,  I  believe  Mr.  Gladstone  is  as  firm 
a  friend  to  the  union  between  England  and  Ire- 
land as  any  man  in  the  United  Kingdom,  but  he 
is  for  the  rule  of  justice  instead  of  the  rule  of  the 
bayonet,  the  rule  of  love  instead  of  the  rule  of 
hate,  the  rule  of  trust  and  confidence  instead  of 
the  rule  of  doubt  and  suspicion.  I  wanted  to  see 
this  famous  statesman  and  orator  while  in  Lon- 
don. It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  hear  many 
of  the  best  speakers  in  this  country  and  in  Eng- 
land. I  have  heard  Webster,  Everett,  Sumner, 
Phillips,  and  other  great  American  orators,  living 
and  dead.  I  have  also  heard  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
Richard  Cobden,  George  Thompson,  John  Bright, 
Lord  Brougham,  O'Connell,  and  other  great 
speakers  in  England,  and  I  felt  it  would  be  some- 
thing to  hear  the  peer  of  any  of  the  greatest  of 
them.  Well,  the  opportunity  was  afforded  me ;  I 
heard  Mr.  Gladstone,  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions.  It  was  on  an  occasion  of  his  motion 
in  Parliament  to  reject  the  infamous  Coercion 
bill.  For  weeks  the  bill  had  been  debated,  and 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  borne  his  full  share  in  that  de- 
bate, and  I  was  anxious  to  know  what  he  could  say 
further.  The  tide  of  public  opinion  set  strongly 
against  him,  and  the  passage  of  the  bill  was 
already  assured.  The  press  of  the  country,  for 
the  most   part,  had  kept  up  a  steady  fire  upon 

6 


82  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

him  and  loaded  him  with  reproaches  of  the  bit- 
terest kind.  The  House  was  crowded,  and  all 
eyes  were  turned  upon  him  when  he  rose  to 
make  his  last  great  effort  to  defeat  this  force  bill 
for  Ireland,  which  he  knew  could  not  be  defeated ; 
but  Mr.  Gladstone  had  a  duty  to  perform  and  he 
performed  it  admirably.  The  first  glance  at  his 
face  impressed  me.  There  was  a  singular  blend- 
ing of  qualities  in  it,  the  lamb  and  the  lion  were 
there  ;  dauntless  as  a  veteran  soldier,  and  yet 
meek  as  a  saint.  His  speech  was  one  of  the 
grandest  I  ever  heard,  and  was  listened  to  with 
profoundest  silence  by  the  whole  House.  My 
expectations  were  high,  very  high,  but  in  some 
respects  they  were  far  exceeded.  For  one  hour 
and  a  half,  without  pause,  and  without  once  hesi- 
tating for  a  word,  he  poured  out  a  stream  of  elo- 
quence, learning,  and  argument  which  seemed  to 
be  irresistible.  When  he  sat  down  the  govern- 
ment benches,  as  well  as  the  opposite  benches, 
were  immediately  emptied,  and  poor  Mr.  Balfour, 
the  secretary  for  Ireland,  was  left  almost  without 
an  audience  to  hear  his  reply. 

My  visit  to  England  was  in  some  respects  sen- 
timental. I  wanted  to  see  the  faces  and  press 
the  hands  of  some  of  the  dear  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances I  met  there  over  forty  years  ago. 
Among  them  were  two  ladies  who  were  mainly 
instrumental  in  giving  me  the  chance  of  devoting 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  83 

my  life  to  the  cause  of  freedom.  These  were 
Ellen  and  Anna  Richardson,  of  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne.  They  are  both  living,  one  aged  seventy- 
nine,  and  the  other  over  eighty ;  without  any  sug- 
gestion from  me  they  opened  a  correspondence 
with  Hon.  Walter  Foward,  of  Pittsburgh,  and 
Mr.  Merideth,  of  Philadelphia,  and  through  them 
bought  me  out  of  slavery,  secured  a  bill  of  sale  of 
my  body,  made  a  present  of  myself  to  myself,  and 
thus  enabled  me  to  return  to  the  United  States, 
and  resume  my  work  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves.  It  was  a  great  privilege  to  see  these  two 
good  women,  and  to  see  others  who  assisted  them 
in  raising  the  money  to  ransom  me.  If  I  had  no 
other  comipensation  for  my  voyage  across  the  sea, 
this  would  have  been  ample  payment ;  of  course 
m.any  of  the  precious  friends  who  met  me  in  Eng- 
land, Ireland,  and  Scotland  forty  years  ago  have 
passed  away,  but  I  saw  some  of  them  through 
their  children  and  in  them  recognized  their  noble 
qualities. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  places  for  Ameri- 
can tourists  is  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  it  was 
especially  so  to  me,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
historical  associations  that  cluster  about  it,  and 
its  many  beautiful  features,  but  for  the  memor- 
able controversy  I  took  part  in  with  the  Free 
Church  during  my  first  visit  to  Scotland.  The 
facts  are  these :     That  church  ha,d  sent  a  deputa- 


84  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

tion  to  the  United  States  immediately  after  sepa- 
rating itself  from  the  established  church  of  Scot- 
land, to  collect  money  to  build  churches  and 
support  its  ministry.  That  deputation  went  South 
and  collected  several  thousand  pounds  for  this  pur- 
pose in  the  slave  states  and  presumably  from  slave- 
holders. George  Thompson,  Henry  C.  Wright, 
and  James  N.  Buffom,  lately  deceased,  made  an 
issue  with  the  church.  We  felt  that  it  would  be 
good  testimony  against  slavery  if  we  could  induce 
the  Free  Church  to  follow  the  example  of  Daniel 
O'Connell  in  a  like  case  to  send  back  the  money. 
The  debate  was  sharp  and  long — the  excitement 
was  great.  Nearly  everybody  in  Scotland,  out- 
side the  Free  Church,  were  on  the  side  of  free- 
dom, and  were  for  sending  back  the  money. 
This  sentiment  was  written  on  the  pavements 
and  walls  and  sung  in  the  streets  by  minstrels. 
The  very  air  was  full  of  send  back  the  money. 
Forgetting  I  was  in  a  monarchy  and  not  in  this 
Republic,  I  got  myself  into  trouble  by  cutting 
"send  back  the  money  "on  Arthur's  seat.  I  was 
soon  after  arrested  for  trespassing  on  the  Queen's 
forests,  and  only  got  off  by  a  written  apology. 

I  visited  the  same  spot  when  over  there  a  few 
weeks  ago,  but  the  friendly  grass  of  forty  years 
had  obliterated  all  trace  of  the  famous  formula 
and  my  humiliation,  as  it  has  also  happily  blotted 
out  all  further  need  of  that  sentiment  itself.     The 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  85 

money,  however,  was  never  sent  back,  for  Scotch- 
men do  not  part  with  money  without  knowing 
wherefor — a  lesson  which  colored  people  will  do 
well  to  learn,  if  they  ever  favorably  change  their 
relations  to  the  people  and  civilization  of  our  age. 
I  have  traveled  since  I  left,  not  only  in  Eng- 
land, Ireland,  and  Scotland,  but  in  France,  Switz- 
erland, Italy,  Athens,  and  Egypt.  The  most 
civilized,  the  best  cultivated,  and  apparently  the 
most  prosperous  of  these  countries  is  England. 
Nothing  here  goes  to  waste,  every  inch  of  fertile 
soil  is  cultivated  and  made  to  yield  abundant 
harvests.  The  average  crop  of  wheat  is  forty-six 
bushels  to  the  acre,  exceeding  that  of  our  best 
western  lands.  Its  fields  are  pictures  in  frames 
of  rich  hedges,  adorned  with  leaves  and  flowers, 
its  people  are  well  behaved,  orderly,  and  strong, 
its  cattle,  large,  smooth,  and  round,  its  public 
buildings,  substantial  and  imposing,  its  houses, 
neat,  ample,  and  comfortable  ;  everything  here 
exhibits  the  mark  of  thoughtful  care.  The  man- 
agement of  its  railroads  for  the  comfort  of  trav- 
elers is  somewhat  clumsy ;  they  lack  over  there 
our  excellent  system  of  checks,  but  the  protection 
of  life  is  more  complete,  and  a  higher  rate  of 
speed  is  attained ;  the  railroad  crossing  for  teams 
are  spanned  by  bridges — no  teams  cross  on  the 
rails,  and  hence  nobody  is  run  over  as  in  free 
America. 


86  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

"  I  stopped  but  a  little  while  in  London,  the 
greatest  city,  with  the  greatest  population  in  the 
world,  a  population  which  is  just  double  what  it 
was  fortv-two  years  ao-o.  It  was  two  and  a  half 
millions  then  ;  it  is  five  millions  now.  I  was 
there  long  enough  to  revisit  St.  Pauls,  the  Na- 
tional Gallery,  the  British  ]\Iuseum,  Westminster 
Abbey,  the  Tower,  iMadam  Tausaud's,  and  to 
visit  Buffalo  Bill's  show, — for  this  is  the  latest 
addition  to  London  life, — and  you  would  be  aston- 
ished to  see  the  hundreds  of  thousands  that  flock 
day  after  day  to  see  this  wonder  of  the  Wild 
West. 

"  If  any  American  wants  to  have  a  vivid  impres- 
sion of  human  progress,  and  to  shudder  at  the 
cruelty  and  barbarism  of  England  a  few  centuries 
ago,  he  has  only  to  go  to  the  Tower  of  London, 
and  look  upon  the  terrible  things  he  will  see  there 
— torture  and  death  are  written  all  over  that 
ancient  prison.  But  I  must  not  stop  here  with 
England,  otherwise  I  shall  hardly  reach  in  my 
narrative  any  one  of  the  other  great  counties  it 
was  my  good  fortune  to  visit  during  my  stay 
abroad.  Even  as  the  matter  now  stands,  I  must 
postpone  to  another  occasion  remarks  upon  other 
features  of  my  tour.  On  leaving  London  we 
went  directly  to  Paris  and  spent  several  weeks 
there.  We  hardly  felt  ourselves  in  a  strange  land 
and  among  strangers  till  we  reached  this  wonder- 


Life  of  Frederick  Douglass.  87 

ful  city,  the  center  of  fashion,  taste,  refinement, 
and  art,  where  we  no  longer  heard  our  mother 
tongue,  or  saw  our  English  and  American  man- 
ners. The  situation  was  strange,  but  not  dis- 
agreeable. We  were  in  a  city  of  great  historical 
events,  marvelous  transitions,  startling  revolu- 
tions, where  human  passion  has  been  more  power- 
fully displayed  in  riot  and  ruin  than  in  any  other 
city  of  modern  times.  A  whole  wilderness  of 
horrors  is  suggested  when  its  name  is  men- 
tioned, and  yet  there  is  found  in  it  quiet,  orderly, 
majestic,  and  beautiful  signs  of  life,  and  it  is 
beaming  with  cheerfulness  and  thronged  with 
seemingly  happy  people." 

Prolonged  applause  followed  the  conclusion  of 
this  address,  after  which  the  audience  filed  past 
Mr.  Douglass,  each  one  in  turn  shaking  the  hand 
of  the  distinguished  man. 

Mr.  Douglass  was  appointed  minister  resident 
and  consul  general  to  Hayti  by  President  Harri- 
son in  1889,  and  after  holding  the  office  for  two 
years  resigned.  For  some  years  prior  to  this 
time  the  United  States  had  been  unsuccessful  in 
its  attempts  to  secure  a  naval  station  in  Hayti. 
These  efforts,  renewed  soon  after  Mr.  Douglass 
had  entered  upon  his  duties  as  minister,  were 
again  unsuccessful,  and  it  was  claimed  that  in 
the  negotiations  he  did  not  heartily  support  the 
propositions   made   by  his   government  for  the 


88  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

lease  of  the  mole  St.  Nicholas.  The  charge  is 
entirely  groundless.  In  a  word,  the  real  objec- 
tion to  granting  the  request  of  our  government 
came  from  the  Haytian  people  themselves.  The 
opinion  was  general  that  securing  the  mole  was 
only  the  first  step  in  our  purpose  to  annex  the 
whole  island  to  this  country.  Whether  this  opin- 
ion was  correctly  founded  or  not,  President  Hyp- 
polite,  even  if  he  had  desired  to  favor  the  United 
States  in  the  matter  of  leasing  the  mole,  saw  it 
was  impolitic  to  act  in  defiance  to  the  wishes  of 
his  countrymen. 

As  a  proof  of  its  respect  and  confidence,  that 
government  appointed  Mr.  Douglass  to  represent 
the  Haytian  Republic  at  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  at  Chicago  in  1893. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

As  Orator  and  Writer. 

By  whatever  standard  judged  Mr.  Douglass 
will  take  high  rank  as  orator  and  writer.  It  may 
be  truly  said  of  him  that  he  was  born  an  orator; 
and,  though  he  is  a  man  of  superior  intellectual 
faculties,  he  has  not  relied  on  his  natural  powers 
alone  for  success  in  this  his  chosen  vocation.  He 
is  called  a  self-made  man,  but  few  college  bred 
men  have  been  more  diligent  students  of  logic,  of 
rhetoric,  of  politics,  of  history,  and  general  litera- 
ture than  he.  He  belongs  to  that  class  of  orators 
of  which  Fox  of  England  and  Henry  and  Clay  in 
our  own  country  are  the  most  illustrious  repre- 
sentatives. His  style,  however,  is  peculiarly  his 
own. 

Cicero  says,  "  The  best  orator  is  he  that  so 
speaks  as  to  instruct,  to  delight,  and  to  move  the 
mind  of  his  hearers."  Mr.  Douglass  is  a  striking 
example  of  this  definition.  Few  men  equal  him 
in  his  power  over  an  audience.  He  possesses  wit 
and  pathos,  two  qualities  which  characterized 
Cicero  and  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  rhetori- 
cian Quintilian,  gave  the  Roman  orator  great 
advantage  over  Demosthenes.  Judge  Ruffin  of 
Boston,  in  his  introduction  to  Mr.  Douglass'  auto- 
biography, says :    "  Douglass  is  brimful  of  humor, 


50  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

— at  times  of  the  driest  kind ;  it  is  of  a  quaint 
kind  ;  you  can  see  it  coming  a  long  way  off  in  a 
peculiar  twitch  of  his  mouth  ;  it  increases  and 
broadens  gradually  until  it  becomes  irresistible 
and  all-pervading  with  his  audience."  The  humor 
of  Mr.  Douglass  is  much  like  that  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Jefferson,  the  great  actor,  who  never  makes  an 
effort  to  be  funny,  but  his  humor  is  of  the  quiet, 
suppressed  type.  Like  Mr.  Jefferson,  now  he 
excites  those  emotions  which  cause  tears,  and 
now  he  stirs  up  those  which  produce  laughter. 
Grief  and  mirth  may  be  said  to  reside  in  adjoin- 
ing apartments  in  the  same  edifice,  and  the  pass- 
ing from  one  apartment  to  the  other  is  not  a  diffi- 
cult thing  to  do. 

The  biographer  of  Webster  gives  the  following 
amusing  anecdote  to  show  the  simplicity  of  ex- 
pressing thought  for  which  that  Colossus  of  Amer- 
ican intellect  is  distinguished  in  his  speeches:  "  On 
the  arrival  of  that  singular  genius,  David  Crock- 
ett, at  Washington,  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
hearing  Mr.  Webster.  A  short  time  afterwards 
he  met  him  and  abruptly  accosted  him  as  follows : 
'  Is  this  Mr.  Webster  ?  '  '  Yes,  sir.'  '  The  great 
Mr.  Webster  of  Massachusetts  ?  '  continued  he, 
with  a  siofnificant  tone.  '  I  am  Mr.  Webster  of 
Massachusetts,'  was  the  calm  reply.  '  Well,  sir,' 
continued  the  eccentric  Crockett,  '  I  had  heard 
that  you  were  a  great  man,  but  I  don't  think  so ; 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  9 1 

I  heard  your  speech  and  understood  every  word 
you  said!  " 

President  Lincoln  gave  this  reply  to  the  ques- 
tion asked,  to  what  secret  he  owed  his  success  in 
public  debate :  "  I  always  assume  that  my  audi- 
ences are  in  many  things  wiser  than  I  am,  and  I 
say  the  most  sensible  things  I  can  to  them.  I 
never  found  that  they  did  not  understand  me." 

The  power  of  simple  statement  is  one  of  the 
chief  characteristics  of  Mr.  Douglass'  style  of 
speaking,  and  in  this  respect  he  resembles  Fox, 
the  great  British  statesman,  who,  above  all  his 
countrymen,  was  distinguished  on  account  of 
plainness,  and,  as  I  may  express  it,  homeliness  of 
thought  w^hich  gave  him  great  power  in  persuad- 
ing and  moving  his  audience. 

Mr.  Douglass'  influence  in  public  speaking  is 
due  largely  to  the  fact  that  he  touches  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers — that  he  impresses  them  with  the 
belief  of  his  sincerity  and  earnestness.  His  heart 
is  in  what  he  says.  "  Clearness,  force,  and  ear- 
nestness," says  Webster,  "  are  the  qualities  which 
produce  conviction.  True  eloquence,  indeed,  does 
not  consist  in  speech  ;  it  cannot  be  brought  from 
far ;  labor  and  learning  may  toil  for  it,  but  they 
will  toil  for  it  in  vain.  Words  and  phrases  may 
be  marshaled  in  every  way,  but  they  cannot 
compass  it ;  it  must  exist  in  the  man,  in  the  sub- 
ject, and  in  the  occasion," 


92  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

There  have  been  those  of  brilliant  minds  who 
have  gained  some  reputation  as  speakers  ;  they 
have  been  successful  in  pleasing  and  amusing 
those  they  addressed,  but  their  success  stopped 
here.  They  could  not  reach  the  depths  of  the 
heart,  because  their  own  hearts  were  not  touched. 
The  poet  Horace  admirably  enforces  this  thought 
when  he  says :  "  If  you  wish  me  to  weep,  you 
must  first  yourself  be  deeply  grieved." 

But  to  be  fully  appreciated,  Mr.  Douglass  must 
be  seen  and  heard.  This  was  also  true  of  Henry 
Clay.  One  could  form  but  a  faint  conception 
of  his  eloquence  and  grandeur  by  reading  his 
speeches,  and  yet,  as '  reported,  they  were  both 
logical  and  argumentative.  The  fire  and  action 
of  the  man  could  not  be  transferred  to  paper. 
Mr.  Douglass  in  speaking  does  not  make  many 
gestures,  but  those  he  uses  are  natural  and  spon- 
taneous. His  manner  is  simple  and  graceful,  and 
there  is  nothing  about  his  style  artificial  or  de- 
clamatory. Much  of  an  orator's  success  depends 
upon  his  delivery.  The  younger  Pitt  said  that 
he  could  not  discover  where  lay  his  father's  elo- 
quence by  simply  reading  his  speeches.  It  is 
related  of  Garrick  that  he  w^as  asked  by  a  clergy- 
man why  it  was  that  he  could  produce  greater 
effect  by  a  recital  of  fiction  than  the  clergy  by 
the  presentation  of  the  most  important  truths. 
Garrick  replied :  "  Because  you  speak  truths  as  if 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  93 

they  were  fictions;  we  speak  fictions  as  if  they 
were  truths." 

Mr.  Douglass,  as  an  extemporaneous  speaker, 
was  much  more  impressive  than  he  has  been  since 
he  began  to  write  out  his  speeches  and  dehver 
them  from  manuscript.  He  remarked  to  the 
writer  one  day  that  he  thought  he  had  made  a 
mistake  in  thus  writing  out  his  lectures  ;  he  im- 
bibed the  idea  that  his  extemporaneous  speeches 
would  be  defective  and  subject  him  to  criticism. 
He  had  by  so  doing  lost  much  power  in  delivery. 
"  For,"  said  he,  "  I  never  was  a  good  reader." 
The  first  address  he  wrote  out  in  full  was  the 
paper  before  the  Western  Reserve  College  in 
1854.  Ever  since  his  return  from  England  in 
i860  he  has  steadily  followed  the  habit  of  writing 
what  he  has  to  say  and  reading  from  manuscript. 
His  former  style  is  what  we  call  extemporaneous, 
but  we  do  not  wish  to  convey  the  idea  that  he 
spoke  without  preparation.  On  the  contrary,  he 
gave  much  thought  to  the  topics  which  he  in- 
tended to  discuss,  and  then  prepared  notes  under 
the  different  divisions  of  his  subject.  By  not 
being  confined  to  his  manuscript,  he  caught  the 
inspiration  of  his  audience.  This  inspiration,  so 
essential  to  true  eloquence  in  the  orator,  can 
never  be  secured  by  the  essayist,  however  fin- 
ished and  perfect  he  may  be. 

While  Mr.  Douglass  may  have  lost  much  of 


94        LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

his  eloquence  in  using  manuscript,  yet  some  im- 
portant advantages  have  resulted  from  this  prac- 
tice. He  was  led  to  investigate  more  extensively 
the  subjects  on  which  he  wrote,  and  to  take  more 
time  for  preparation;  and  thus  made  his  speeches 
more  com.plete.  Formerly,  many  of  his  best  ex- 
temporaneous efforts  were  never  fully  reported, 
and  consequently  much  that  he  said  has  been 
lost.  His  later  lectures  and  speeches  have  been 
preserved  in  manuscript  form,  and  when  pub- 
lished together,  as  they  will  be  one  day,  will  prove 
a  valuable  contribution  to  literature. 

Some  of  his  best  lectures  are  The  Mission  of 
the  War,  The  Sources  of  Danger  to  the  Repub- 
lic, Self-made  Men,  Recollections  of  the  Anti- 
slavery  Contest,  William  the  Silent,  Santo  Do- 
mingo, The  National  Capital,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
John  Brown. 

The  discourses  of  Mr.  Douglass  when  re- 
viewed, will  bear  the  test  of  criticism,  and  will  be 
found  to  contain  the  requisites  of  a  correct  and 
finished  style.  His  language  is  pure,  his  words 
are  choice,  and  in  accordance  with  the  best  usage. 
His  sentences  are  constructed  in  the  English 
idiom,  and  have  the  elements  of  strength  because 
preference  is  given  in  their  formation  to  short 
Anglo-Saxon  words,  rather  than  to  those  derived 
from  Latin  and  Greek.  So  carefully  is  the  rule 
of  propriety   observed   by  him   that    one    would 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  95 

think  he  had  thoroughly  mastered  the  principles 
of  grammar  and  rhetoric  under  the  most  compe- 
tent instructors.  From  the  discrimination  he 
uses  in  the  selection  of  words  to  express  the  idea 
he  wishes  to  convey,  we  conclude  he  must  have 
been  for  many  years  a  diligent  student  of  the 
dictionary.  His  v/ritings  are  remarkably  free 
from  obscurity  and  affectation,  which  Macaulay 
regards  as  "  the  two  greatest  faults  in  style,"  and 
they  may,  therefore,  be  taken  as  models  of  per- 
spicuity, so  essential  to  one  who  would  become 
eminent  as  an  essayist.  This  excellence  to  which 
v/e  allude,  is  due,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  he  first 
forms  clear  and  distinct  conceptions  of  the  truth 
he  wishes  to  illustrate,  and  then  making  use  of 
simple  language  to  express  the  ideas  arranged  in 
his  mind  in  logical  order,  writes  freely  as  if  under 
inspiration.  Since  he  has  followed  the  practice 
of  writing  his  speeches  his  style  has  become  more 
argumentative  and  massive,  similar  to  that  of 
Webster  and  Burke.  In  all  he  says,  like  these 
great  masters,  whom  none  have  surpassed,  there  is 
so  much  beauty  of  expression,  elegance  of  diction, 
dignity  of  thought,  and  elevation  of  moral  feeling 
that  the  most  happy  and  lasting  effect  is  pro- 
duced upon  the  mind  of  the  reader. 

In  the  preparation  of  his  speeches  and  ad- 
dresses, Mr.  Douglass  at  times  requires  greater 
privacy  than  his  library  affords,  where  he  is  liable 


96  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

to  interruption  by  members  of  his  household  and 
visitors.  In  order  that  he  may  wholly  give  his 
attention  to  the  literary  work  which  he  has  in 
hand,  he  retires  to  his  "  den,"  as  he  calls  it,  a 
sm.all,  one-room  building,  situated  in  the  rear  of 
his  dwelling,  and  used  by  former  owners  as  a 
storehouse,  but  now  v»dth  certain  interior  altera- 
tions made  into  a  cozy  study.  It  is  a  pleasant 
retreat  in  summer,  for  it  is  protected  from  the 
heat  of  the  sun  by  trees  and  vines,  and  in  winter 
is  made  comfortable  by  a  glowing  fire  in  the  old- 
fashioned  fireplace  found  within.  The  study  is 
furnished  simply  with  a  lounge,  a  high  desk,  and 
a  stool.  It  is  the  practice  of  Mr.  Douglass  to 
write  standing,  when  in  this  room,  where  he  will 
remain  for  hours  at  a  time,  denying  himself  to  all 
visitors.  While  composing,  he  thinks  accurately 
and  correctly,  and  on  this  account  his  composi- 
tion requires  but  little  correction.  His  manu- 
script is  always  neat,  not  marred  by  erasures  and 
alterations.  We  mention  this  fact  because  it 
proves  that  correct  writing  is  the  result  of  care 
exercised  by  the  writer  in  the  beginning,  which 
in  time  becomes  a  fixed  habit. 


o 
o 
c 
o 
r 
> 


z 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Extracts  from  His   Speeches   and    Lectures. 

We  shall  now  make  a  few  additional  selections 
from  his  speeches  and  lectures  to  show  further 
his  style  as  orator  and  writer.  We  regret  we 
have  no  exact  report  of  the  Nantucket  speech,  to 
which  reference  in  these  pages  has  already  been 
made.  This  was  his  maiden  effort  and  was  the 
turning  point  of  his  whole  life.  I  quote  from  Mr. 
Garrison,  who  was  in  attendance  upon  the  con- 
vention, and  heard  the  addresses  of  the  different 
speakers.  After  telling  of  the  fortunate  circum- 
stance that  Mr.  Douglass  was  induced  to  address 
the  meeting,  he  gives  the  impressions  made  upon 
him  by  the  speaker  in  his  remarks  on  that  occa- 
sion.    Here  is  what  he  says  : — 

"  Fortunate,  most  fortunate  occurrence  ! — for- 
tunate for  the  millions  of  his  manacled  brethren, 
yet  panting  for  deliverance  from  their  awful  thral- 
drom  !  fortunate  for  the  cause  of  negro  emancipa- 
tion, and  of  universal  liberty  !  fortunate  for  the 
land  of  his  birth,  which  he  has  already  done  so 
much  to  save  and  bless !  fortunate  for  a  large  cir- 
cle of  friends  and  acquaintances,  whose  sympathy 
and  affection  he  has  strongly  secured  by  the 
many  sufferings  he  has  endured,  by  his  virtuous 

7 


gS  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK   DOUGLASS. 

traits  of  character,  by  his  ever-abiding  remem- 
brance of  those  who  are  in  bonds,  as  being  bound 
with  them  !  fortunate  for  the  multitudes,  even  in 
various  parts  of  our  republic,  whose  minds  he  has 
enlightened  on  the  subject  of  slaver}^  and  who 
have  been  melted  to  tears  by  his  pathos,  or  roused 
to  virtuous  indignation  by  his  stirring  eloquence 
aofainst  the  enslavers  of  men  !  fortunate  for  him- 
self,  as  it  at  once  brought  him  into  the  field  of 
public  usefulness,  'gave  the  world  assurance  of  a 
man,'  quickened  the  slumbering  energies  of  his 
soul,  and  consecrated  him  to  the  great  work  of 
breaking  the  rod  of  the  oppressor,  and  letting  the 
oppressed  go  free  ! 

"  I  shall  never  forget  his  first  speech  at  the  con- 
vention— the  extraordinary  emotion  it  excited  in 
my  own  mind — the  powerful  impression  it  created 
upon  a  crowded  auditory,  com.pletely  taken  by 
surprise— the  applause  which  followed  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  his  felicitous  remarks.  I 
think  I  never  hated  slavery  so  intensely  as  at  that 
moment ;  certainly  my  perception  of  the  enor- 
mous outrage  which  is  inflicted  by  it,  on  the  God- 
like nature  of  its  victims,  was  rendered  far  more 
clear  than  ever.  There  stood  one  in  physical 
proportion  and  stature  commanding  and  exact, 
in  intellect  richly  endowed,  in  natural  eloquence 
a  prodigy,  in  soul  manifestly  '  created  but  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels  ' — yet  a  slave,  ay,  a  fugitive 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  99 

slave,  trembling  for  his  safety,  hardly  daring  to 
believe  that  on  the  American  soil  a  single  white 
person  could  be  found  who  would  befriend  him 
at  all  hazards,  for  the  love  of  God  and  humanity ! 
As  soon  as  he  had  taken  his  seat,  filled  with  hope 
and  admiration,  I  arose  and  declared  that  Patrick 
Henry,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  never  made  a 
speech  more  eloquent  in  the  cause  of  liberty  than 
the  one  we  had  just  listened  to  from  the  lips  of 
that  hunted  fugitive.  So  I  believed  at  that  time, 
such  is  my  belief  now," 

Afterwards  Mr.  Douglass,  referring  to  the 
remarks  he  made  on  this  occasion,  said  that  he 
had  no  idea  that  he  v/as  making  much  of  an 
effort.  Getting  over  his  embarrassment,  he 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  mxceting  and  somehow 
words  came  to  him  spontaneousl}^ 

Mr.  Douglass  in  December,  1841,  made  an 
anti-slavery  speech  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 
This  speech,  like  the  Nantucket  one,  was  never 
written  out  or  fully  reported.  We  give  the  ac- 
count of  it  as  furnished  by  that  elegant  writer, 
N.  P.  Rogers. 

"  Friday  evening  was  chiefly  occupied  by  col- 
ored speakers.  The  fugitive  Douglass  was  up 
when  we  entered.  This  is  an  extraordinary  man. 
Pie  was  cut  out  for  a  hero.  In  a  rising  for  lib- 
erty he  would  have  been  a  Toussaint  or  a  Hamil- 
ton,    He  has  the  '  heart  to  conceive,  the  head  to 


lOO  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

contrive,  and  the  hand  to  execute ! '  A  command- 
ing person — over  six  feet,  we  should  say,  in  height, 
and  of  most  manly  proportions.  His  head  would 
strike  a  phrenologist  amid  a  sea  of  them  in  Exeter 
Hall,  and  his  voice  would  ring  like  a  trumpet  in 
the  field.  Let  the  South  congratulate  herself 
that  he  is  a  fugitive.  It  would  not  have  been 
safe  for  her  if  he  had  remained  about  the  planta- 
tions a  year  or  two  longer.  Douglass  is  his  fugi- 
tive name.  He  did  not  wear  it  in  slavery.  We 
do  not  know  why  he  assumed  it,  or  who  bestowed 
it  on  him,  but  there  is  some  fitness  in  it,  to  his 
commanding  figure  and  heroic  part.  As  a  speaker 
he  has  few  equals.  It  is  not  declamation,  but 
oratory,  power  of  deba.te.  He  watches  the  tide 
of  discussion  with  the  eye  of  the  veteran,  and 
dashes  into  it  at  once  with  all  the  tact  of  the 
forum  or  the  bar.  He  has  wit,  argument,  sar- 
casm, pathos — all  that  first-rate  men  show  in  their 
master  efforts.  His  voice  is  highly  melodious 
and  rich,  and  his  enunciation  quite  elegant,  and 
yet  he  has  been  but  two  or  three  years  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage.  We  noticed  that  he  had 
strikingly  improved,  since  we  heard  him  at  Dover 
in  September.  We  say  this  much  of  him,  for  he 
is  esteemed  by  our  multitude  as  of  an  inferior 
race.  We  should  like  to  see  him  before  any 
New  England  legislature  or  bar,  and  let  him  feel 
the  freedom  of  the  anti-slavery  meeting,  and  see 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  lOI 

what  would  become  of  his  inferiority.  Yet  he  is 
a  thing,  in  American  estimate.  He  is  the  chattel 
of  some  pale-faced  tyrant.  How  his  owner  would 
cower  and  shiver  to  hear  him  thunder  in  an  anti- 
slavery  hall !  How  he  would  shrink  away,  with 
his  infernal  whip,  from  his  flaming  eye  when  kin- 
dled with  anti-slavery  emotion !  And  the  brother- 
hood of  thieves,  the  posse  comitatus  of  divines,  we 
wish  a  hecatomb  or  two  of  the  proudest  and  flint- 
iest of  them  were  obliged  to  hear  him  thunder 
for  human  liberty  and  lay  the  enslavement  of  his 
people  at  their  doors.  They  would  tremble  like 
Belshazzar." 

Of  his  early  speeches  here  is  an  eloquent  ex- 
tract upon 

"Man's  Rights  to  Liberty. 

"  Indeed,  I  ought  to  state,  what  must  be  obvious 
to  all,  that,  properly  speaking,  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  new  truth  ;  for  truth,  like  the  God  whose 
attribute  it  is,  is  eternal.  In  this  sense,  there  is, 
indeed,  nothing  new  under  the  sun.  Error  may 
be  properly  designated  as  old  or  new^  since  it  is 
but  a  misconception ;  or  an  incorrect  view  of  the 
truth.  Misapprehensions  of  what  truth  is  have 
their  beginnings  and  their  endings.  They  pass 
away  as  the  race  move  onward.  But  truth  is 
'from  everlasting  to  everlasting,'  and  can  never 
pass  away. 


I02  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

"Such  is  the  truth  of  man's  right  to  Hberty.  It 
existed  in  the  very  idea  of  man's  creation.  It 
was  his  even  before  he  comprehended  it.  He  was 
created  in  it,  endowed  with  it,  and  it  can  never 
be  taken  from  him.  No  laws,  no  statutes,  no 
compacts,  no  covenants,  no  compromises,  no  con- 
stitutions, can  abrogate  or  destroy  it.  It  is  be- 
yond the  reach  of  the  strongest  earthly  arm,  and 
smiles  at  the  ravings  of  tyrants  from  its  hiding 
place  in  the  bosom  of  God.  Men  may  hinder  its 
exercise,  they  may  act  in  disregard  of  it,  they  are 
even  permitted  to  war  against  it ;  but  they  fight 
against  heaven,  and  their  career  must  be  short, 
for  Eternal  Providence  will  speedily  vindicate 
the  right. 

"  The  existence  of  this  truth  is  self-evident.  It 
is  written  upon  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of 
man.  The  desire  for  it  is  the  deepest  and  strong- 
est of  all  the  powers  of  the  human  soul.  Earth, 
sea,  and  air, — great  Nature,  with  her  thousand 
voices,  proclaim  it.  In  the  language  of  Addison 
we  may  apostrophize  it : — 

"  '  Oh,  Liberty  I  thou  goddess,  heavenly  bright, 
Profuse  of  bliss,  and  pregnant  with  delight ! 
Thou  mak'st  the  glowing  face  of  nature  gay, 
Giv'st  beauty  to  the  sun,  and  pleasure  to  the  day.' 

"  I  have  said  that  the  right  to  liberty  is  self-evi- 
dent. No  argument,  no  researches  into  mouldy 
records,  no    learned  disquisitions,  are  necessaiy 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  IO3 

to  establish  it.  To  assert  it,  is  to  call  forth  a 
sympathetic  response  from  every  human  heart, 
and  to  send  a  thrill  of  joy  and  gladness  round 
the  world.  Tyrants,  oppressors,  and  slaveholders 
are  stunned  by  its  utterance,  while  the  oppressed 
and  enslaved  of  all  lands  hail  it  as  an  angel 
of  deliverance.  Its  assertion  in  Russia,  in  Aus- 
tria, in  Egypt,  in  fifteen  states  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union,  is  a  crime.  In  the  harems  of  Turkey, 
and  on  the  Southern  plantations  of  Carolina,  it  is 
alike  prohibited ;  for  the  guilty  oppressors  of 
every  clime  understand  its  truths  and  appreciate 
its  electric  power." 

The  following  extract,  a  model  of  passionate 
eloquence,  is  from  an  oration  delivered  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  1852,  to  the  citizens  of  Rochester. 

"The  White  Man's  Fourth  of  July. 

"  To  me  the  American  slave-trade  is  a  terrible 
reality.  When  a  child,  my  soul  was  often  pierced 
with  a  sense  of  its  horrors.  I  lived  on  Philpot 
street.  Fells  Point,  Baltimore,  and  have  watched 
from  the  wharves  the  slave-ships  in  the  basin,  an- 
chored from  the  shore,  with  their  cargoes  of 
human  flesh,  waiting  for  favorable  winds  to  waft 
them  down  the  Chesapeake.  There  was  at  that 
time  a  grand  slave-mart  kept  at  the  head  of  Pratt 
street,  by  Austin  Woldfolle.  His  agents  were 
sent  into  every  town    and  county  in  Maryland, 


104  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

announcing  their  arrival  through  the  papers,  and 
on  flaming  '  handbills^  headed,  Cash  for  Negroes, 
These  men  were  generally  well  dressed,  and  very 
captivating  in  their  manners,  ever  ready  to  drink, 
to  treat,  and  to  gamble.  The  fate  of  many  a  slave 
has  depended  upon  the  turn  of  a  single  card ;  and 
many  a  child  has  been  snatched  from  the  arms  of 
its  mother,  by  bargains  arranged  in  a  state  of 
brutal  drunkenness. 

"  The  fleshmongers  gather  up  their  victims  by 
dozens,  and  drive  them,  chained,  to  the  general 
depot  at  Baltimore.  When  a  sufficient  number 
have  been  collected  here,  a  ship  is  chartered  for 
the  purpose  of  conveying  the  forlorn  crew  to 
Mobile,  or  to  New  Orleans.  From  the  slave 
prison  to  the  ship,  they  are  usually  driven  in  the 
darkness  of  night ;  for  since  the  anti-slavery  agi- 
tation, a  certain  caution  is  observed. 

"  In  the  deep,  still  darkness  of  midnight,  I  have 
often  been  aroused  by  the  dead,  heavy  footsteps, 
and  the  piteous  cries  of  the  chained  gangs  that 
passed  our  door.  The  anguish  of  my  boyish 
heart  was  intense,  and  I  was  often  consoled,  when 
speaking  to  my  mistress  in  the  morning,  to  hear 
her  say  that  the  custom  was  very  wicked  ;  that 
she  hated  to  hear  the  rattle  of  the  chains,  and  the 
heart-rending  cries.  I  was  glad  to  find  one  who 
sympathized  with  me  in  my  horror. 

"Fellow-citizens,  this  murderous  traffic  is,  to- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  I05 

day,  in  active  operation  in  this  boasted  republic. 
In  the  soHtude  of  my  spirit,  I  see  clouds  of  dust 
raised  on  the  highways  of  the  South  ;  I  see  the 
bleeding  footsteps ;  I  hear  the  doleful  wail  of 
fettered  humanity,  on  the  way  to  the  slave-mar- 
kets, where  the  victims  are  to  be  sold  like  horses, 
sheep,  and  swine,  knocked  off  to  the  highest  bid- 
der. There  I  see  the  tenderest  ties  ruthlessly 
broken  to  gratify  the  lust,  caprice,  and  rapacity 
of  the  buyers  and  sellers  of  men.  My  soul  sick- 
ens at  the  sight. 

#^  ^  ^  ^  ^  4&> 

"A*  nv-  "Tr  ^P"  "A*  *?!* 

"What,  to  the  American  slave,  is  your  Fourth 
of  July  .f^  I  answer,  a  day  that  reveals  to  him, 
more  than  all  other  days  in  the  year,  the  gross 
injustice  and  cruelty  to  which  he  is  the  constant 
victim.  To  him,  your  celebration  is  a  sham  ; 
your  boasted  liberty,  an  unholy  license ;  your 
national  greatness,  swelling  vanity ;  your  sounds 
of  rejoicing  are  empty  and  heartless  ;  your  denun- 
ciations of  tyrants,  brass-fronted  impudence ;  your 
shouts  of  liberty  and  equality,  hollow  mockery ; 
your  prayers  and  hymns,  your  sermons  and  thanks- 
givings, with  all  your  religious  parade  and  solem- 
nity, are,  to  him,  mere  bombast,  fraud,  deception, 
impiety,  and  hypocrisy — a  thin  veil  to  cover  up 
crimes  which  would  disgrace  a  nation  of  savages. 
There  is  not  a  nation  on  the  earth  guilty  of 
practices  more  shocking  and  more  bloody  than 


I06  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

are    the   people  of  these   United  States  at   this 
very  hour." 

At  the  commencement  exercises  of  the  West- 
ern Reserve  College,  July  12,  1854,  Mr.  Douglass 
ably  discussed  the  question,  "  The  Claims  of  the 
Negro  Ethnologically  Considered."  As  stated 
elsewhere  in  this  sketch,  up  to  this  time  he  had 
delivered  his  speeches  extemporaneously  or  from 
brief  notes.  On  this  occasion  he  wrote  out  in 
full  his  address  and  spoke  from  manuscript,  in- 
troducing his  subject  to  the  audience  in  these 
words : — 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Philozetian  Society:  I  pro- 
pose to  submit  to  you  a  few  thoughts  on  the 
subject  of  the  Claims  of  the  Negro,  suggested  by 
ethnological  science,  or  the  natural  history  of 
man.  But,  before  entering  upon  that  subject,  I 
trust  you  will  allow  me  to  make  a  remark  or  two 
somew^hat  personal  to  myself.  The  relation  be- 
tween me  and  this  occasion  may  justify  what,  in 
others,  might  seem  an  offense  against  good  taste. 

"This  occasion  is  to  me  of  no  ordinary  interest, 
for  many  reasons  ;  and  the  honor  you  have  done 
me,  in  selecting  me  as  your  speaker,  is  as  grate- 
ful to  my  heart  as  it  is  novel  in  the  history  of 
American  collegiate  or  literary  institutions.  Sur- 
prised as  I  am,  the  public  are  no  less  surprised, 
at  the    spirit    of    independence,    and    the    moral 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  I07 

Courage  displayed  by  the  gentlemen  at  whose 
call  I  am  here.  There  is  felt  to  be  a  principle 
in  the  matter  placing  it  far  above  egotism  or 
personal  vanity  ;  a  principle  which  gives  to  this 
occasion  a  general,  and,  I  had  almost  said,  an 
universal  interest.  I  engage,  to-day,  for  the  first 
time,  in  the  exercises  of  any  college  commence- 
ment. It  is  a  new  chapter  in  my  humble  expe- 
rience. The  usual  course,  at  such  times,  I  believe, 
is  to  call  to  the  platform  men  of  age  and  distinc- 
tion, eminent  for  eloquence,  mental  ability,  and 
scholarly  attainments — men  whose  high  culture, 
severe  training,  great  experience,  large  observa- 
tion, and  peculiar  aptitude  for  teaching,  qualify 
them  to  instruct  even  the  already  well  instructed, 
and  to  impart  a  glow,  a  luster,  to  the  acquire- 
ments of  those  who  are  passing  from  the  halls  of 
learning  to  the  broad  theater  of  active  life.  To 
no  such  high  endeavor  as  this,  is  your  humble 
speaker  fitted ;  and  it  was  with  much  distrust 
and  hesitation  that  he  accepted  the  invitation,  so 
kindly  and  perseveringly  given,  to  occupy  a  por- 
tion of  your  attention  here  to-day. 

"  I  express  the  hope,  then,  gentlemen,  that  this 
acknowledgment  of  the  novelty  of  my  position, 
and  my  unaffected  and  honest  confession  of  in- 
aptitude, will  awaken  a  sentiment  of  generous 
indulgence  towards  the  scattered  thoughts  I  have 
been  able  to  fling  together,  with  a  view  of  pre- 


Io8       LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

senting  them  as  my  humble  contribution  to  these 
commencement  exercises. 

"  Interesting  to  me,  personally,  as  this  occasion 
is,  it  is  still  more  interesting  to  you  ;  especially  to 
such  of  you  as  have  completed  your  education, 
and  who  (not  wholly  unlike  the  gallant  ship, 
newly  launched,  full  rigged,  and  amply  fitted, 
about  to  quit  the  placid  waters  of  the  harbor  for 
the  boisterous  waves  of  the  sea)  are  entering  upon 
the  active  duties  and  measureless  responsibilities 
incident  to  the  great  voyage  of  life.  Before  such, 
the  ocean  of  mind  lies  outspread  more  solemn 
than  the  sea,  studded  with  difficulties  and  perils. 
Thoughts,  theories,  ideas,  and  systems,  so  various, 
and  so  opposite,  and  leading  to  such  diverse  re- 
sults, suggest  the  wisdom  of  the  utmost  precau- 
tion, and  the  most  careful  survey,  at  the  start.  A 
false  light,  a  defective  chart,  an  imperfect  com- 
pass, may  cause  one  to  drift  in  endless  bewilder- 
ment, or  to  be  landed  at  last  amid  sharp  destruc- 
tive rocks.  On  the  other  hand,  guided  by  wis- 
dom, manned  with  truth,  fidelity  and  industry, 
the  haven  of  peace,  devoutly  wished  for,  may  be 
reached  in  safety  by  all.  The  compensation  of  the 
preacher  is  full,  when  assured  that  his  words  have 
saved  even  one  from  error  and  from  ruin.  My  joy 
shall  be  full,  if,  on  this  occasion,  I  shall  be  able  to 
give  a  right  direction  to  any  one  mind,  touching 
the  question  now  to  be  considered. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  IO9 

"  Gentlemen,  in  selecting  the  Claims  of  the  Ne- 
gro as  the  subject  of  my  remarks  to-day,  I  am 
animated  by  a  desire  to  bring  before  you  a  mat- 
ter of  living  importance — matter  upon  which 
action,  as  well  as  thought,  is  required.  The  rela- 
tion subsisting  between  the  white  and  black  peo- 
ple of  this  country  is  the  vital  question  of  the 
age.  In  the  solution  of  this  question,  the  scholars 
of  America  will  have  to  take  an  important  and 
controlling  part.  This  is  the  moral  battlefield  to 
which  their  country  and  their  God  now  call  them. 
In  the  eye  of  both,  the  neutral  scholar  is  an  igno- 
ble man.  Here,  a  man  must  be  hot,  or  be  ac- 
counted cold,  or,  perchance,  something  worse 
than  hot  or  cold.  The  lukewarm  and  the  cow- 
ardly will  be  rejected  by  earnest  men  on  either 
side  of  the  controversy.  The  cunning  man  who 
avoids  it,  to  gain  the  favor  of  both  parties,  will  be 
rewarded  with  scorn  ;  and  the  timid  man  who 
shrinks  from  it  for  fear  of  offending  either  party, 
will  be  despised.  To  the  lawyer,  the  preacher, 
the  politician,  and  to  the  man  of  letters,  there  is 
no  neutral  ground.  He  that  is  not  for  us,  is 
against  us.  Gentlemen,  I  assume  at  the  start, 
that  wherever  else  I  may  be  required  to  speak 
with  bated  breath,  here,  at  least,  I  may  speak  with 
freedom  the  thought  nearest  my  heart.  This 
liberty  is  implied,  by  the  call  I  have  received  to 
be  here ;  and  yet  I  hope  to  present  the  subject  so 


no  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

that  no  man  can  reasonably  say  that  an  outrage 
has  been  committed,  or  that  I  have  abused  the 
privileges  with  which  you  have  honored  me.  I 
shall  aim  to  discuss  the  claims  of  the  negro,  gen- 
eral and  special,  in  a  manner,  though  not  scien- 
tific, still  suiiiciently  clear  and  definite  to  enable 
my  hearers  to  form  an  intelligent  judgment  re- 
specting them." 

H^  ^  ^  '7^  ^  ^  ^ 

He  concludes  in  the  following  eloquent  plea  in 
behalf  of  his  race  : — 

"  But,  gentlemen,  the  time  fails  me,  and  I  must 
bring  these  remarks  to  a  close.  My  argument 
has  swelled  beyond  its  appointed  measure.  What 
I  intended  to  make  special,  has  become,  in  its 
progress,  somewhat  general.  I  meant  to  speak 
here,  to-day,  for  the  lonely  and  the  despised  ones, 
with  whom  I  was  cradled,  and  with  w^hom  I  have 
suffered  ;  and  now,  gentlemen,  in  conclusion,  what 
if  all  this  reasoning  be  unsound  ?  What  if  the 
negro  ma}'  not  be  able  to  prove  his  relationship 
to  Nubians,  Abyssinians,  and  Egyptians  ?  What 
if  ingenious  men  are  able  to  find  plausible  objec- 
tions to  all  arguments  maintaining  the  oneness  of 
the  human  race  ?  What,  after  all,  if  they  are  able 
to  show  very  good  reasons  for  believing  the  negro 
to  have  been  created  precisely  as  we  find  him  on 
the  Gold  coast — along  the  Senegal  and  the  Niger 
— I  say,  what  of  all  this  ?     'A  7?ian  's  a  man  for 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    IDOUGLASS.  I  I  I 

a  that^  I  sincerely  believe,  that  the  weight  of 
the  argument  is  in  favor  of  the  unity  of  origin  of 
the  human  race,  or  species — that  the  arguments 
on  the  other  side  are  partial,  superficial,  utterly 
subversive  of  the  happiness  of  man,  and  insulting 
to  the  wisdom  of  God.  Yet,  what  if  we  grant 
they  are  not  so?  What,  if  we  grant  that  the 
case,  on  our  part,  is  not  made  out  ?  Does  it  fol- 
low, that  the  negro  should  be  held  in  contempt  ? 
Does  it  follow,  that  to  enslave  and  imbrute  him  is 
either /W/  or  wise?  I  think  not.  Human  rights 
stand  upon  a  common  basis  ;  and  by  all  the  rea- 
son that  they  are  supported,  maintained,  and  de- 
fended, for  one  variety  of  the  human  family,  they 
are  supported,  maintained,  and  defended  for  all 
the  human  family ;  because  all  mankind  have  the 
same  wants,  arising  out  of  a  common  nature.  A 
diverse  origin  does  not  disprove  a  common  nature, 
nor  does  it  disprove  a  united  destiny.  The  essen- 
tial characteristics  of  humanity^are  everywhere 
the  same.  In  the  language  of  the  eloquent  Cur- 
ran,  '  No  matter  what  complexion,  whether  an 
Indian  or  an  African  sun  has  burnt  upon  him,' 
his  title  deed  to  freedom,  his  claim  to  life  and  to 
liberty,  to  knowledge  and  to  civilization,  to  society 
and  to  Christianity,  is  just  and  perfect.  It  is 
registered  in  the  courts  of  heaven,  and  is  enforced 
by  the  eloquence  of  the  God  of  all  the  earth. 
*'  I  have  said  that  the  negro  and  white  man  are 


112  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

likely  ever  to  remain  the  principal  inhabitants  of 
this  country.  I  repeat  the  statement  now,  to 
submit  the  reasons  that  support  it.  The  blacks 
can  disappear  from  the  face  of  the  country  by 
three  ways.  They  may  be  colonized, — they  may 
be  exterminated, — or,  they  may  die  out.  Colo- 
nization is  out  of  the  question,  for  I  know  not 
what  hardships  the  laws  of  the  land  can  impose 
which  can  induce  the  colored  citizen  to  leave  his 
native  soil.  He  was  here  in  its  infancy ;  he  is 
here  in  its  age.  Two  hundred  years  have  passed 
over  him,  his  tears  and  blood  have  been  mixed 
with  the  soil,  and  his  attachment  to  the  place  of 
his  birth  is  stronger  than  iron.  It  is  not  probable 
that  he  will  be  exterminated ;  two  considerations 
must  prevent  a  crime  so  stupendous  as  that — the 
influence  of  Christianity  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  power  of  self-interest  on  the  other ;  and,  in 
regard  to  their  dying  out,  the  statistics  of  the 
country  afford  no  encouragement  for  such  a  con- 
jecture. The  history  of  the  negro  race  proves 
them  to  be  wonderfully  adapted  to  all  countries, 
all  climates,  and  all  conditions.  Their  tenacity 
of  life,  their  powers  of  endurance,  their  malleable 
toughness,  would  almost  imply  especial  interpo- 
sition on  their  behalf.  The  ten  thousand  horrors 
of  slavery,  striking  hard  upon  the  sensitive  soul, 
have  bruised,  and  battered,  and  stung,  but  have 
not  killed.     The   poor  bondman  lifts  a  smiling 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  II3 

face  above  the  surface  of  a  sea  of  agonies,  hoping 
on,  hoping  ever.  His  tawny  brother,  the  Indian, 
dies  under  the  flashing  glance  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon.  Not  so  the  negro ;  civilization  cannot 
kill  him.  He  accepts  it — becomes  a  part  of  it. 
In  the  church,  he  is  an  Uncle  Tom  ;  in  the  state, 
he  is  the  most  abused  and  least  offensive.  All 
the  facts  in  his  history  mark  out  for  him  a  des- 
tiny united  to  America  and  Americans.  Now, 
whether  this  population  shall,  by  Freedom,  Indus- 
try, Virtue,  and  Intelligence,  be  made  a  bless- 
ing to  the  country  and  the  world,  or  whether 
their  multiplied  wrongs  shall  kindle  the  ven- 
geance of  an  offended  God,  will  depend  upon  the 
conduct  of  no  class  of  men  so  much  as  upon  the 
scholars  of  the  country.  The  future  public  opin- 
ion of  the  land,  whether  anti-slavery  or  pro-slav- 
ery, whether  just  or  unjust,  whether  magnanimous 
or  mean,  must  redound  to  the  honor  of  the  schol- 
ars of  the  country  or  cover  them  with  shame. 
There  is  but  one  safe  road  for  nations  or  for  indi- 
viduals. The  fate  of  a  wicked  man  and  of  a 
wicked  nation  is  the  same.  The  flaming  sword 
of  offended  justice  falls  as  certainly  upon  the 
nation  as  upon  the  man.  God  has  no  children 
whose  rights  may  be  safely  trampled  upon.  The 
sparrow  may  not  fall  to  the  ground  without  the 
notice  of  his  eye,  and  men  are  more  than  sparrows. 
"Now,  gentlemen,  I  have  done.     The  subject  is 


114  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

before  you.  I  shall  not  undertake  to  make  the  ap- 
plication. I  speak  as  unto  wise  men.  I  stand  in 
the  presence  of  scholars.  We  have  met  here 
to-day  from  vastly  different  points  in  the  world's 
condition.  I  have  reached  here — if  you  will  par- 
don the  egotism — by  little  short  of  a  miracle ;  at 
any  rate,  by  dint  of  some  application  and  per- 
severance. Born,  as  I  was,  in  obscurity,  a  stran- 
ger to  the  halls  of  learning,  environed  by  igno- 
rance, degradation,  and  their  concomitants  from 
birth  to  manhood,  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  mark 
out,  with  any  degree  of  confidence,  or  dogmatism, 
what  is  the  precise  vocation  of  the  scholar.  Yet, 
this  I  ca7t  say,  as  a  denizen  of  the  world,  and  as  a 
citizen  of  a  country  rolling  in  the  sin  and  shame 
of  slavery,  the  most  flagrant  and  scandalous  that 
ever  saw  the  sun,  '  Whatsoever  things  are  true, 
whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things 
are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever 
things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good 
report,  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any 
praise,  think  on  these  things.'  " 

A  gentleman  who  was  present  and  heard  this 
address,  in  a  recent  article  to  a  newspaper  writes 
the  following:  "  One  of  the  societies  in  '  Western 
Reserve  College  '  (now  removed  to  Cleveland,  and 
known  as  Adelbert  College,  and  endowed  by  the 
late  Mr.  Stone)  had  invited  Mr.  Douglass  to  give 
the  annual  address  before  that  body.     It  was  a 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  II5 

very  honorable  exhibition  of  breadth  and  progres- 
siveness  on  the  part  of  the  students.  The  West- 
ern Reserve  was  always  in  advance,  keeping 
step  with  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Douglass  took  as  his  subject,  '  The  Claims  of 
the  Negro  Ethnologically  Considered.'  The  hon- 
ored president  of  the  University  of  Rochester 
kindly  and  cordially  promised  to  give  Mr.  Doug- 
lass the  benefit  of  his  extended  knowledge  of  eth- 
nology, and  it  was  the  privilege  of  the  Rambler  to 
accompany  Mr.  Douglass  to  the  house  of  the 
president  and  to  introduce  (as  an  isthmus  con- 
necting two  continents)  the  radical  lecturer  to 
the  somewhat  conservative  president.  Later  it 
was  his  honor  to  introduce  Mr.  Douglass  to  the 
president  of  Brown  University. 

"  In  the  course  of  his  address,  Mr.  Douglass 
cited  one  author  who  decried  the  claim  of  the 
negro  to  equal  manhood,  on  the  ground  that 
'  the  voice  of  the  negro  is  thin  and  piping,  an 
evidence  of  inferiority.'  This  passage  Mr.  Doug- 
lass delivered  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  convulsing 
the  audience,  and  rendering  other  reply  needless." 

Mr.  George  Thompson,  whom  Lord  Brougham 
called  "  the  most  eloquent  man  in  all  England," 
had  argued  before  the  people  of  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land, that  the  constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  a  pro-slavery  instrument,  and  took  the  ground 
that  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  as  held  by  the 


Il6  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Garrisonians  was  the  end  to  be  sought  by  the 
American  aboHtionists  as  opposed  to  those  who 
beheved  in  the  anti-slavery  character  of  the  consti- 
tution and  duty  of  laboring  inside  of  the  govern- 
ment for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  Mr.  Douglass, 
then  being  in  Glasgow,  was  invited  to  answer  Mr. 
Thompson,  and  did  so  in  a  speech  which  showed 
not  only  his  ability  as  a  ready  debater,  but  his 
thorough  understanding  of  the  question  he  dis- 
cussed. The  extract  which  we  here  present  of 
that  speech  Vvill  give  some  idea  of  his  power  of 
simple  statement  and  force  of  logical  reasoning  : — 
"  I  have  read  with  much  care  a  speech  delivered 
in  the  City  Hall,  Glasgow,  on  the  28th  of  Febru- 
ary, purporting  to  be  a  reply  to  one  made  by 
myself  in  Dr.  Anderson's  church  a  few  weeks 
previously.  I  found  that  speech  at  length  in  one 
of  your  most  respectable  daily  papers.  The 
minuteness  and  general  shading  of  the  report 
bore  evidence  that  the  orator  had  been  his  own 
reporter.  The  speech  showed  no  marks  of  being 
marred  or  mutilated  in  its  transition  from  the 
manuscript  to  the  types,  and  no  doubt  may  be 
properly  taken  as  a  fair  transcript  of  the  orator's 
utterances  on  that  occasion.  On  some  accounts 
I  read  that  speech  with  much  regret,  and  on 
others  with  much  satisfaction.  I  was  certainly 
pleased  with  the  evidence  it  afforded  that  the 
orator  had  largely  recovered  his  long-lost  health, 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  II7 

and  much  of  his  wonted  eloquence  and  fire.  But 
my  chief  ground  of  satisfaction  is  that  its  deliv- 
ery— perhaps  I  ought  to  say  its  publication,  for  I 
should  not  have  noticed  the  speech  but  for  that — 
furnishes  an  occasion  for  bringing  before  the 
friends  of  my  enslaved  people  one  phase  of  the 
great  struggle  going  on  in  America  between  slav- 
ery and  freedom,  which  I  deem  both  interesting 
and  important. 

J£.  J£,  M,  ^  ^  ^  41. 

'7^  T^  tF  W  ^V"  "SP  Tf" 

"  I  stand  by  all  I  said,  and  more  than  all  I  said, 
in  the  speech  in  Dr.  Anderson's  church.  But 
enough  of  this ;  I  proceed  to  the  discussion. 
Much  will  be  gained  at  the  outset  if  we  fully  and 
clearly  understand  the  real  question  under  dis- 
cussion. Indeed,  nothing  is  or  can  be  understood 
till  this  is  understood.  Things  are  often  con- 
founded and  treated  as  the  same,  for  no  better 
reason  than  that  they  resemble  each  other,  even 
while  they  are  in  their  nature  and  character 
totally  distinct  and  even  directly  opposed  to  each 
other.  The  jumbling  of  things  is  a  sort  of  dust- 
throwing  which  is  often  indulged  in  by  small  men 
who  argue  for  victory  rather  than  for  truth. 
Thus,  for  instance,  the  American  government 
and  the  American  constitution  are  spoken  of  in 
a  manner  which  would  naturally  lead  the  hearer 
to  believe  that  the  one  is  identical  with  the  other; 
when  the  truth  is,  they  are  as  distinct  in  charac- 


Il8  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

ter  as  are  a  ship  and  a  compass.  The  one  may 
point  right  and  the  other  steer  wrong.  A  chart 
is  one  thing,  the  course  of  the  vessel  is  another. 
The  constitution  may  be  right,  the  government 
wrong.  If  the  government  has  been  governed 
by  mean,  sordid,  and  Vv^icked  passions,  it  does 
not  follow  that  the  constitution  is  mean,  sordid, 
or  wicked.  What,  then,  is  the  question  ?  I  will 
state  it.  But  first  let  me  state  what  is  not  the 
question.  It  is  not  whether  slavery  existed  in 
the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution ;  it  is  not  whether  slaveholders 
took  part  in  framing  the  constitution  ;  it  is  not 
whether  those  slaveholders,  in  their  hearts,  in- 
tended to  secure  certain  advantages  in  that  instru- 
ment for  slavery ;  it  is  not  whether  the  American 
government  has  been  wielded  during  seventy-two 
years  in  favor  of  the  propagation  and  permanence 
of  slavery ;  it  is  not  whether  a  pro-slavery  inter- 
pretation has  been  put  upon  the  constitution  by 
the  American  courts — all  these  points  may  be 
true,  or  they  may  be  false,  they  may  be  accepted 
or  they  may  be  rejected,  without  in  any  way  affect- 
ing the  real  question  in  debate.  The  real  and 
exact  question  between  myself  and  the  class  of 
persons  represented  by  the  speech  at  the  City 
Hall  may  be  fairly  stated  thus :  First,  does  the 
United  States  constitution  guarantee  to  any  class 
or  description  of  people  in  that  country  the  right 


LIFE    OF   FREDERICK   DOUGLASS.  II9 

to  enslave,  or  hold  as  property,  any  other  class  or 
description  of  people  in  that  country  ?  Second, 
is  the  dissolution  of  tKe  union  between  the  slave 
and  free  states  required  by  fidelity  to  the  slaves 
or  by  the  just  demands  of  conscience  ?  Or,  in 
other  words,  is  the  refusal  to  exercise  the  elective 
franchise,  and  to  hold  office  in  America,  the  sur- 
est, wisest,  and  best  way  to  abolish  slavery  in 
America  ?  To  these  questions  the  Garrisonians 
say,  yes.  They  hold  the  constitution  to  be  a  slave- 
holding  instrument,  and  will  not  cast  a  vote  or 
hold  office,  and  denounce  all  who  vote  or  hold 
office,  no  matter  how  faithfully  such  persons  labor 
to  promote  the  abolition  of  slavery.  I,  on  the 
other  hand,  deny  that  the  constitution  guarantees 
the  right  to  hold  property  in  man,  and  believe 
that  the  way  to  abolish  slavery  in  America  is  to 
vote  such  men  into  power  as  will  use  their  powers 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  This  is  the  issue 
plainly  stated,  and  you  shall  judge  between  us. 
Before  we  examine  into  the  disposition,  tendency, 
and  character  of  the  constitution,  I  think  we  had 
better  ascertain  what  the  constitution  itself  is. 
Before  looking  for  what  it  means,  let  us  see  what 
it  is.  Here,  too,  there  is  much  dust  to  be  cleared 
away.  What,  then,  is  the  constitution  ?  I  will 
tell  you.  It  is  no  vague,  indefinite,  floating,  un- 
substantial, ideal  something,  colored  according  to 
any  man's  fancy,  now  a  weasel,  now  a  whale,  and 


I20  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

now  nothing.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  plainly 
written  document,  not  in  Hebrew  or  Greek,  but 
in  English,  beginning  with  a  preamble,  filled  out 
with  articles,  sections,  provisions,  and  clauses, 
defining  the  rights,  powers,  and  duties  to  be 
secured,  claimed,  and  exercised  under  its  author- 
ity. It  is  not  even  like  the  British  constitution, 
which  is  made  up  of  enactments  of  Parliament, 
decisions  of  courts,  and  the  established  usages  of 
the  government.  The  American  constitution  is 
a  written  instrument  full  and  complete  in  itself. 
No  court  in  America,  no  Congress,  no  president, 
can  add  a  single  word  thereto,  or  take  a  single 
word  therefrom.  It  is  a  great  national  enact- 
ment done  by  the  people,  and  can  only  be  altered, 
amended,  or  added  to,  by  the  people. 

^*  ^P  ^*  ^r  ^r  ^^  ^' 

"  I  repeat,  the  paper  itself,  and  only  the  paper 
itself,  with  its  own  plainly-written  purposes  is  the 
constitution.  It  must  stand  or  fall,  flourish  or 
fade,  on  its  own  individual  and  self-declared  char- 
acter and  objects.  Again,  where  would  be  the 
advantage  of  a  written  constitution,  if,  instead  of 
seeking  its  meaning  in  its  words,  we  had  to  seek 
them  in  the  secret  intentions  of  individuals  who 
may  have  had  something  to  do  with  writing  the 
paper  ?  What  will  the  people  of  America  a  hun- 
dred years  hence  care  about  the  intentions  of  the 
scriveners  who  wrote  the    constitution  ?     These 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  121 

men  are  already  gone  from  us,  and  in  the  course  of 
nature  were  expected  to  go  from  us.  They  were 
for  a  generation,  but  the  constitution  is  for  ages. 
Whatever  we  may  owe  to  them,  we  certainly  owe 
it  to  ourselves,  and  to  mankind,  and  to  God,  to 
maintain  the  truth  of  our  own  language,  and  to 
allow  no  villainy,  not  even  the  villainy  of  holding 
men  as  slaves— which  Wesley  says  is  the  sum  of  all 
villainies — to  shelter  itself  under  a  fair-seeming 
and  virtuous  language.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves 
to  compel  the  devil  to  wear  his  own  garments,  and 
to  make  wicked  laws  speak  out  their  wicked  in- 
tentions. Common  sense,  and  common  justice, 
and  sound  rules  of  interpretation,  all  drive  us  to 
the  words  of  the  law  for  the  meaning  of  the  law." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Extracts  from  his  Speeches  and  Lectures — 

Continued. 

On  Decoration  day,  1871,  Mr.  Douglass  deliv- 
ered an  address  before  a  great  concourse  of  peo- 
ple, including  General  Grant  and  his  cabinet,  in 
which  he  distinctly  points  out  the  motives  which 
actuated  those  who  fought  on  opposite  sides  in 
the  late  civil  conflict.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  best  of 
his  short  speeches,  and  we  think  there  cannot  be 
found  a  more  just  and  eloquent  tribute  to  our 
illustrious  dead.     Here  is  what  he  said  : — 

"  Friends  and  Fellow  Citizens  :  Tarry  here 
for  a  moment.  My  words  shall  be  few  and  sim- 
ple. The  solemn  rites  of  this  hour  and  place  call 
for  no  lengthened  speech.  There  is,  in  the  very 
air  of  this  resting-ground  of  the  unknown  dead,  a 
silent,  subtle,  and  all  pervading  eloquence,  far 
more  touching,  impressive,  and  thrilling  than  liv- 
ing lips  have  ever  uttered.  Into  the  measureless 
depths  of  every  loyal  soul  it  is  now  whispering 
lessons  of  all  that  is. precious,  priceless,  holiest, 
and  most  endurino;  in  human  existence. 

"Dark  and  sad  v/ill  be  the  hour  to  this  nation 
when  it  forgets  to  pay  grateful  homage  to  its 
greatest  benefactors.     The  offering  we  bring  to- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  12^ 

day  is  due  alike  to  the  patriot  soldiers  dead  and 
their  noble  comrades  who  still  live  ;  for,  whether 
living  or  dead,  whether  in  time  or  eternity,  the 
loyal  soldiers  who  imperiled  all  for  country  and 
freedom  are  one  and  inseparable. 

"  Those  unknown  heroes  whose  whitened  bones 
have  been  piously  gathered  here,  and  whose  green 
graves  we  now  strew  with  sweet  and  beautiful 
flowers,  choice  emblems  alike  of  pure  hearts  and 
brave  spirits,  reached,  in  their  glorious  career,  that 
last  highest  point  of  nobleness  beyond  which 
human  power  cannot  go.  They  died  for  their 
country. 

"No  loftier  tribute  can  be  paid  to  the  most  illus- 
trious of  all  the  benefactors  of  mankind  than  we 
pay  to  these  unrecognized  soldiers  when  we  write 
above  their  graves  this  shining  epitaph. 

"When  the  dark  and  vengeful  spirit  of  slavery, 
always  ambitious,  preferring  to  rule  in  hell  than 
to  serve  in  heaven,  fired  the  Southern  heart  and 
stirred  all  the  malign  elements  of  discord,  when 
our  great  republic,  the  hope  of  freedom  and  self- 
government  throughout  the  world,  had  reached 
the  point  of  supreme  peril,  when  the  union  of 
these  states  was  torn  and  rent  asunder  at  the 
center,  and  the  armies  of  a  gigantic  rebellion 
came  forth  with  broad  blades  and  bloody  hands 
to  destroy  the  very  foundation  of  American  so- 
ciety, the  unknown  heroes  who  flung  themselves 


124  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

into  the  yawning  chasm,  amid  roaring  cannon  and 
whistling  bullets,  with  a  sublime  devotion  fought 
and  died  for  their  country. 

"We  are  sometimes  asked,  in  the  name  of  pa- 
triotism, to  forget  the  merits  of  this  fearful  strug- 
gle, and  to  remember  with  equal  admiration  those 
who  struck  at  the  nation's  life  and  those  who 
struck  to  save  it,  those  who  fought  for  slavery  and 
those  who  fought  for  liberty  and  justice. 

"  I  am  no  minister  of  malice.  I  would  not 
strike  the  fallen.  I  would  not  repel  the  repentant; 
but  may  '  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning,  and 
my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,'  if  I  for- 
get the  difference  between  the  parties  to  that 
terrible,  protracted,  and  bloody  conflict. 

"  If  we  ouo-ht  to  fororet  a  war  v/hich  has  filled  our 
land  with  widows  and  orphans  ;  which  has  made 
stumps  of  men  of  the  very  flower  of  our  youth  ; 
which  has  sent  them  on  the  journey  of  life  arm- 
less, legless,  maimed,  and  mutilated  ;  which  has 
piled  up  a  debt  heavier  than  a  mountain  of  gold, 
swept  uncounted  thousands  of  men  into  bloody 
graves  and  planted  agony  at  a  million  hearth- 
stones— I  say,  if  this  war  is  to  be  forgotten,  I  ask, 
in  the  name  of  all  things  sacred,  what  shall  men 
remember  ? 

"  The  essence  and  significance  of  our  devotions 
here  to-day  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
the    men  whose  remains    fill  these    graves  were 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 25 

brave  in  battle.  If  we  met  simply  to  show  our 
sense  of  bravery,  we  should  find  enough  on  both 
sides  to  kindle  admiration.  In  the  raging  storm 
of  fire  and  blood,  in  the  fierce  torrent  of  shot  and 
shell,  of  sword  and  bayonet,  whether  on  foot  or 
on  horse,  unflinching  courage  marked  the  rebel 
not  less  than  the  loyal  soldier. 

"  But  we  are  not  here  to  applaud  manly  courage, 
save  as  it  has  been  displayed  in  a  noble  cause. 
We  must  never  forget  that  victory  to  the  rebellion 
meant  death  to  the  republic.  We  must  never  for- 
get that  the  loyal  soldiers  who  rest  beneath  this 
sod  flung  themselves  between  the  nation  and  the 
nation's  destroyers.  If  to-day  we  have  a  country 
not  boiling  in  an  agony  of  blood,  like  France,  if 
now  we  have  a  united  country,  no  longer  cursed 
by  the  hell-black  system  of  human  bondage,  if 
the  American  name  is  no  longer  a  by-word  and  a 
hissing  to  a  mocking  earth,  if-  the  star  spangled 
banner  floats  only  over  free  American  citizens  in 
every  quarter  of  the  land,  and  our  country  has 
before  it  a  long  and  glorious  career  of  justice,  lib- 
erty, and  civilization,  we  are  indebted  to  the 
unselfish  devotion  of  the  noble  army  who  rest  in 
these  honored  graves  all  around  us." 

On  the  14th  of  April,  1876,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  unveiling  of  the  Freedmen's  monument  in 
memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  Lincoln  park, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Mr.  Douglass  was  the  orator 


126  LIFE    OF    FRED?:RICK    DOUGLASS. 

of  the  day,  and  in  his  masterly  oration  spoke  elo- 
quently of  the  life  and  services  of  President  Lin- 
coln. We  give  the  concluding  portion  of  what 
he  said : — 

"  Fellow-citizens,  whatever  else  in  this  world 
may  be  partial,  unjust,  and  uncertain,  time,  time  ! 
is  impartial,  just,  and  certain  in  its  action.  In  the 
realm  of  mind,  as  well  as  in  the  realm  of  matter, 
it  is  a  great  worker,  and  often  works  wonders. 
The  honest  and  comprehensive  statesman,  clearly 
discerning  the  needs  of  his  country,  and  earnestly 
endeavoring  to  do  his  whole  duty,  though  covered 
and  blistered  with  reproaches,  may  safely  leave 
his  course  to  the  silent  judgment  of  time.  Few 
great  public  men  have  ever  been  the  victims  of 
fiercer  denunciation  than  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
during  his  administration.  He  was  often  wounded 
in  the  house  of  his  friends.  Reproaches  came 
thick  and  fast  upon  him  from  within  and  from 
without,  and  from  opposite  quarters.  He  w^as 
assailed  by  abolitionists  ;  he  was  assailed  by  slave- 
holders ;  he  was  assailed  by  the  men  who  were 
for  peace  at  any  price  ;  he  was  assailed  by  those 
who  were  for  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
war ;  he  Avas  assailed  for  not  making  the  war  an 
abolition  war ;  and  he  was  most  bitterly  assailed 
for  making  the  war  an  abolition  war. 

"But  now  behold  the  change;  the  judgm.ent  of 
the  present  hour  is,  that  taking  him  for  all  in  all, 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 27 

measuring  the  tremendous  magnitude  of  the  work 
before  him,  considering  the  necessary  means  to 
ends,  and  surveying  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
infinite  wisdom  has  seldom  sent  any  man  into  the 
world  better  fitted  for  his  mission  than  Abraham 
Lincoln.  His  birth,  his  training,  and  his  natural 
endowments,  both  mental  and  physical,  were 
strongly  in  his  favor.  Born  and  reared  among 
the  lowl}%  a  stranger  to  wealth  and  luxur}^,  com- 
pelled to  grapple  single-handed  with  the  flintiest 
hardships  of  life  from  tender  youth  to  sturdy 
manhood,  he  grew  strong  in  the  manly  and  heroic 
qualities  demanded  by  the  great  mission  to  which 
he  was  called  by  the  votes  of  his  countrymen. 
The  hard  condition  of  his  early  life,  which  would 
have  depressed  and  broken  down  wea.ker  men, 
only  gave  greater  life,  vigor,  and  buoyancy  to  the 
heroic  spirit  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  ready 
for  any  kind  and  any  quality  of  work.  What 
other  young  men  dreaded  in  the  shape  of  toil,  he 
took  hold  of  with  the  utmost  cheerfulness. 

"  'A  spade,  a  rake,  a  hoe, 
A  pickaxe,  or  a  bill ; 
A  hook  to  reap,  a  scythe  to  mow, 
A  flail,  or  what  you  will.' 

"All  day  long  he  could  split  heavy  rails  in  the 
woods,  and  half  the  night  long  he  could  study  his 
English  grammar  by  the  uncertain  flare  and  glare 
of  the  light  made  by  a  pine  knot.      He  was  at 


128  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

home  on  the  land  with  his  axe,  with  his  maul, 
with  gluts,  and  his  wedges ;  and  he  was  equally 
at  home  on  water,  with  his  oars,  with  his  poles, 
with  his  planks,  and  with  his  boat-hooks.  And 
whether  in  his  flat-boat  on  the  Mississippi  river, 
or  at  the  fireside  of  his  frontier  cabin,  he  was  a 
man  of  work.  A  son  of  toil  himself,  he  was 
linked  in  brotherly  sympathy  with  the  sons  of  toil 
in  every  loyal  part  of  the  republic.  This  very 
fact  gave  him  tremendous  power  with  the  Amer- 
ican people,  and  materially  contributed  not  only 
to  electing  him  to  the  presidency,  but  in  sus- 
taining his  administration  of  the  government. 

"  Upon  his  inauguration  as  president  of  the 
United  States,  an  ofifice,  even  where  assumed 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  fitted  to  tax 
and  strain  the  largest  abilities,  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  met  by  a  tremendous  crisis.  He  was  called 
upon  not  merely  to  administer  the  government, 
but  to  decide,  in  the  face  of  terrible  odds,  the  fate 
of  the  republic.  A  formidable  rebellion  rose  in 
his  path  before  him  ;  the  Union  was  already  prac- 
tically dissolved  ;  his  country  was  torn  and  rent 
asunder  at  the  center.  Hostile  armies  were  al- 
ready organized  against  the  republic,  armed  with 
the  munitions  of  war  which  that  republic  had 
provided  for  its  own  defense.  The  tremendous 
question  for  him  to  decide  was  whether  his  coun- 
try should  survive  the  crisis  and  flourish,  or  be 


LIFE    OF    FREDP:RICK    DOUGLASS.  1 29 

dismembered  and  perish.  His  predecessor  in 
office  had  already  decided  the  question  in  favor 
of  national  dismemberment  by  denying  to  it  the 
right  of  self-defense  and  self-preservation — a  right 
which  belongs  to  the  meanest  insect. 

"  Happily  for  the  country,  happily  for  you  and 
for  me,  the  judgment  of  James  Buchanan,  the  patri- 
cian, was  not  the  judgment  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
the  plebeian.  He  brought  his  strong  common 
sense,  sharpened  in  the  school  of  adversity,  to 
bear  upon  the  question.  He  did  not  hesitate,  he 
did  not  falter ;  but  at  once  resolved  that  at  what- 
ever peril,  at  whatever  cost,  the  union  of  the  states 
should  be  preserved.  A  patriot  himself,  his  faith 
was  strong  and  unwavering  in  the  patriotism  of  his 
countrymen.  Timid  men  said  before  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's inauguration,  that  we  had  seen  the  last  pres- 
ident of  the  United  States.  A  voice  in  influential 
quarters  said,  *Let  the  union  slide.'  Some  said 
that  a  union  maintained  by  the  sword  was  worth- 
less. Others  said  a  rebellion  of  eight  million  can- 
not be  suppressed  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
tumult  and  timidity,  and  against  all  this,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  was  clear  in  his  duty,  and  had  an 
oath  in  heaven.  He  calmly  and  bravely  heard 
the  voice  of  doubt  and  fear  all  around  him  ;  but 
he  had  an  oath  in  heaven,  and  there  was  not 
power  enough  on  earth  to  make  this  honest  boat- 
man, backwoodsman,  and  broad-handed  splitter  of 
9 


130  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

rails  evade  or  violate  tha.t  sacred  oath.  He  had 
not  been  schooled  in  the  ethics  of  slavery;  his 
plain  life  had  favored  his  love  of  truth.  He  had 
not  been  taught  that  treason  and  perjury  were 
the  proof  of  honor  and  honesty.  His  moral  train- 
ino:  was  aQ:ainst  his  savinc^  one  thino"  Vv^hen  he 
meant  another.  The  trust  which  Abraham  Lin- 
coln had  in  himself  and  in  the  people  was  sur- 
prising and  grand,  but  it  was  also  enlightened 
and  well  founded.  He  knew  the  American  peo- 
ple better  than  they  knew  themselves,  and  his 
truth  was  based  upon  this  knowledge. 

"  Fellow-citizens,  the  fourteenth  day  of  April, 
1865,  of  which  this  is  the  eleventh  anniversary,  is 
now  and  w^ill  ever  remain  a  memorable  day  in  the 
annals  of  this  republic.  It  was  on  the  evening 
of  this  day,  while  a  fierce  and  sanguinary  rebellion 
was  in  the  last  stages  of  its  desolating  power; 
v/hile  its  armies  were  broken  and  sca,ttered  before 
the  invincible  armies  of  Grant  and  Sherman; 
while  a  great  nation,  torn  and  rent  by  war,  was 
already  beginning  to  raise  to  the  skies  loud  an- 
thems of  joy  at  the  dawn  of  pe?,ce,  it  w^as  startled, 
amazed,  and  overwhelmed  by  the  crowning  crime 
of  slaver}^ — the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. It  was  a  new  crime,  a  pure  act  of  malice. 
No  purpose  of  the  rebellion  was  to  be  served  by 
it.  It  was  the  simple  gratification  of  a  hell-black 
spirit  of  revenge.     But  it  has  done  good,  after  all. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  I3I 

It  has  filled  the  country  with  a  deeper  abhorrence 
of  slavery  and  a  deeper  love  for  the  great  liberator. 

"Had  Abraham  Lincoln  died  from  any  of  the 
numerous  ills  to  which  flesh  is  heir ;  had  he 
reached  that  good  old  age  of  which  his  vigorous 
constitution  and  his  temperate  habits  gave  prom- 
ise ;  had  he  been  permitted  to  see  the  end  of  his 
great  work ;  had  the  solemn  curtain  of  death 
come  down  but  gradually — we  should  still  have 
been  smitten  with  a  heavy  grief,  and  treasured 
his  name  lovingly.  But,  dying  as  he  did  die,  by 
the  red  hand  of  violence,  killed,  assassinated, 
taken  off  without  warning,  not  because  of  per- 
sonal hate — for  no  man  who  knew  Abraham  Lin- 
coln could  hate  him — but  because  of  his  fidelity 
to  union  and  liberty,  he  is  doubly  dear  to  us,  and 
his  memory  will  be  precious  forever. 

"Fellow-citizens,  I  end  as  I  began,  with  con- 
gratulations. Wq  have  done  a  good  work  for  our 
race  to-day.  In  doing  honor  to  the  memory  of 
our  friend  and  liberator,  we  have  been  doing 
highest  honors  to  ourselves  and  those  who  come 
after  us  ;  we  have  been  fastening  ourselves  to  a 
name  and  fame  imperishable  and  immortal ;  we 
have  also  been  defending  ourselves  from  a  blight- 
ing scandal.  When  now  it  shall  be  said  that  the 
colored  man  is  soulless,  that  he  has  no  apprecia- 
tion of  benefits  or  benefactors  ;  when  the  foul 
reproach  of  ingratitude  is  hurled   at  us,  and  it  is 


132  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

attempted  to  scourge  us  beyond  the  range  of 
human  brotherhood,  we  may  cahiily  point  to  the 
monument  we  have  this  day  erected  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Abraham  Lincoln." 

An  eminent  divine  at  the  unveiHng  of  the 
monument  here  referred  to,  after  congratulating 
the  orator  of  the  day  upon  his  masterly  portrayal 
of  the  character  of  the  martyr  president,  turned 
to  General  Grant,  who  was  present,  and  said : 
"  There  is  but  one  Frederick  Douglass." 

On  the  anniversary  celebration  of  the  emanci- 
pation of  slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  Mr. 
Douglass  was  the  orator  in  the  years  1883,  1885, 
and  1886,  respectively.  The  speeches  delivered 
at  the  time  here  referred  to,  are  discourses  on 
the  relations  subsisting  between  the  white  and 
colored  people  of  the  United  States,  in  which 
the  orator  clearly  shows  that,  though  the  negro 
possesses  personal  freedom  and  the  ballot,  he 
is  still  a  victim  of  prejudice  and  injustice. 

Here  is  an  extract  from  the  first  of  these 
addresses,  delivered  in  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  April  16,  1883. 

"  Let  any  man  now  claim  for  the  negro,  or,  worse 
still,  let  the  negro  now  claim  for  himself,  any 
right,  privilege,  or  immunity  which  has  hitherto 
been  denied  by  law  or  custom,  and  he  will  at  once 
open  a  fountain  of  bitterness,  and  call  forth  over- 
whelming wrath. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 33 

"  It  is  his  sad  lot  to  live  in  a  land  where  all  pre- 
sumptions are  arrayed  against  him,  unless  we 
except  the  presumption  of  inferiority  and  worth- 
lessness.  If  his  course  is  downward,  he  meets 
very  little  resistance,  but  if  upward,  his  way  is 
disputed  at  every  turn  of  the  road.  If  he  comes 
in  rags  and  in  wretchedness,  he  answers  the  pub- 
lic demand  for  a  negro,  and  provokes  no  anger, 
though  he  may  provoke  derision,  but  if  he  pre- 
sumes to  be  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,  he  is  then 
entirely  out  of  his  place.  He  excites  resentment 
and  calls  forth  stern  and  bitter  opposition.  If  he 
offers  himself  to  a  builder  as  a  mechanic,  to  a 
client  as  a  lawyer,  to  a  patient  as  a  physician,  to  a 
university  as  a  professor,  or  to  a  department  as  a 
clerk,  no  matter  what  may  be  his  ability  or  his 
attainments,  there  is  a  presumption,  based  upon 
his  color  or  his  previous  condition,  of  incompe- 
tency, and  if  he  succeeds  at  all,  he  has  to  do  so 
against  this  most  discouraging  presumption. 

"  It  is  a  real  calamity,  in  this  country,  for  any 
man,  guilty  or  not  guilty,  to  be  accused  of  crime, 
but  it  is  an  incomparably  greater  calamity  for  any 
colored  man  to  be  so  accused.  Justice  is  often 
painted  with  bandaged  eyes.  She  is  described  in 
forensic  eloquence,  as  utterly  blind  to  wealth  or 
poverty,  high  or  low,  white  or  black;  but  a  mask 
of  iron,  however  thick,  could  never  blind  Ameri- 
can justice,  when  a  black  man  happens  to  be  on 


134  LiFfi    OF   FREDERICK   DOUGLASS. 

trial.  Here,  even  more  than  elsewhere,  he  will 
find  all  presumptions  of  law  and  evidence  against 
him.  It  is  not  so  much  the  business  of  his  ene- 
mies to  prove  him  guilty,  as  it  is  the  business  of 
himself  to  prove  his  innocence.  The  reasonable 
doubt  which  is  usually  interposed  to  save  the  life 
and  liberty  of  a  white  man  charged  with  crime, 
seldom  has  any  force  or  effect  when  a  colored 
man  is  accused  of  crime.  Indeed,  color  is  a  far 
better  protection  to  the  white  criminal,  than  any- 
thing else.  In  certain  parts  of  our  country,  when 
any  white  man  wishes  to  commit  a  heinous  of- 
fense, he  wisely  resorts  to  burnt  cork  and  black- 
ens his  face,  and  goes  forth  under  the  similitude 
of  a  negro.  When  the  deed  is  done,  a  little  soap 
and  water  destroys  his  identity,  and  he  goes  un- 
whipped  of  justice.  Some  negro  is  at  once  sus- 
pected and  brought  before  the  victim  of  wrong 
for  identification,  and  there  is  never  much  trouble 
here,  for  as  in  the  eyes  of  many  white  people  all 
negroes  look  alike,  and  as  the  man  who  was 
arrested  and  who  sits  in  the  dock  in  irons  is 
black,  he  is  undoubtedly  the  criminal. 

"A  still  orreater  misfortune  to  the  nesfro  is  that 

o  o 

the  press,  that  engine  of  omnipotent  power,  usu- 
ally tries  him  in  advance  of  the  courts,  and,  when 
once  his  case  is  decided  in  the  newspapers,  it  is 
easy  for  the  jury  to  bring  in  its  verdict  of  *  guilty 
as  indicted.' 


LiFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 35 

"  In  many  parts  of  our  common  country,  the 
action  of  courts  and  juries  is  entirely  too  slow 
for  the  impetuosity  of  the  people's  justice.  When 
the  black  man  is  accused,  the  mob  takes  the  law 
into  its  own  hands,  and  whips,  shoots,  stabs, 
hangs,  or  burns  the  accused,  simply  upon  the  alle- 
gation or  suspicion  of  crime.  Of  such  proceed- 
ings Southern  papers  are  full.  A  crime  almost 
unknown  to  the  colored  man  in  the  time  of  slav- 
ery seems  now,  from  report,  the  most  common. 
I  do  not  believe  these  reports.  There  are  too 
many  reasons  for  trumping  up  such  charges. 

"Another  feature  of  the  situation  is,  that  this 
mob  violence  is  seldom,  rebuked  by  the  press  and 
the  pulpit,  in  its  immediate  neighborhood,  be- 
cause the  public  opinion  which  sustains  and 
makes  possible  such  outrages,  intimidates  both 
press  and  pulpit. 

"  Besides,  nobody  expects  that  those  who  par- 
ticipate in  such  mob  violence  will  ever  be  held 
ansv/erable  to  the  law,^nd  punished.  Of  course, 
judges  are  not  always  unjust,  nor  juries  always 
partial  in  cases  of  this  class,  but  I  affirm  that  I 
have  here  given  you  no  picture  of  the  fancy,  and 
I  have  alleged  no  point  incapable  of  proof,  and 
dra,wn  no  line  darker  or  denser  than  the  terrible 
reality.  The  situation  is  discouraging,  but,  with 
all  its  hardships  and  horrors,  I  am  neither  des- 
perate nor  despairing  as  to  the  future." 


136  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

In  the  following  extract  from  his  second  address 
delivered  at  the  Lincoln  Memorial  Church,  April 
16,  1885,  he  compliments  President  Cleveland 
upon  his  inaugural  address  and  expresses  the 
hope  that  he  will  administer  the  affairs  of  the 
government  with  due  regard  to  the  rights  of  all 
citizens  irrespective  of  race  or  color. 

These  are  his  words : — 

No  better  words  have  dropped  from  the  east 
portico  of  the  Capitol  since  the  inauguration  days 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  General  Grant.  I  be- 
lieve they  were  sincerely  spoken,  but  whether  the 
president  will  be  able  to  administer  the  govern- 
ment in  the  light  of  those  liberal  sentiments  is  an 
open  question.  The  one-man  power  in  our  gov- 
ernment is  very  great,  but  the  power  of  party 
may  be  greater.  The  president  is  not  the  auto- 
crat but  the  executive  of  the  nation.  But,  happily, 
the  executive  is  yet  a  power,  and  may  be  able  to 
obtain  the  support  of  the  co-ordinate  branches  of 
the  government  in  so  plain  a  duty  as  protecting 
the  rights  of  the  colored  citizens,  with  those  of  all 
other  citizens  of  the  republic.  For  one,  though 
Republican  I  am,  and  have  been,  and  ever  expect 
to  be,  though  I  did  what  I  could  to  elect  James 
G.  Blaine  as  president  of  the  United  States,  I  am 
disposed  to  trust  President  Cleveland.  By  his 
words,  as  well  as  by  his  oath  of  office,  solemnly 
subscribed    to    before    uncounted    thousands    of 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.        1 37 

American  citizens,  he  is  held  and  firmly  bound  to 
execute  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  in 
the  fullness  of  its  spirit  and  in  the  completeness 
of  its  letter,  and  thus  far  he  has  shown  no  dispo- 
sition to  shrink  from  that  duty. 

"  The  Southern  question  is  evidently  the  most 
difficult  question  with  which  President  Cleveland 
will  have  to  deal.  Hard  as  it  may  be  to  manage 
his  party  on  the  civil  service  question,  where  he 
has  only  to  deal  with  hungry  and  thirsty  office 
seekers,  nineteen  out  of  every  twenty  of  whom  he 
must  necessarily  offend  by  failing  to  find  desir- 
able places  for  them,  he  will  find  it  incomparably 
harder  to  meet  that  party's  wishes  in  dealing  with 
the  Southern  question.  There  are  several  meth- 
ods of  disposing  of  this  Southern  question  open  to 
him,  and  there  are  lions  in  the  way,  whichever 
method  he  may  adopt. 

"  First,  he  may  adopt  a  policy  of  total  indiffer- 
ence. He  may  shut  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that  in 
all  of  the  Gulf  states  political  rights  of  colored 
citizens  are  literally  stamped  out ;  that  the  consti- 
tution which  he  has  solemnly  sworn  to  support 
and  enforce  is  under  the  feet  of  the  mob  ;  that  in 
those  states  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  fair  elec- 
tion and  an  honest  count.  He  may  utterly  refuse 
to  interfere  by  word  or  deed  for  the  enforcement 
of  the  constitution  and  for  the  protection  of  the 
ballot,  and  let  the  Southern  question  drift  whither- 


138  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASSo 

soever  it  will,  to  ?.  port  of  safety  or  to  a  rock  of 
disaster.  He  will  probably  be  counseled  to  pur- 
sue the  course  of  President  Hayes,  but  I  hope  he 
vdll  refuse  to  follow  it.  The  reasons  v/hich  sup- 
ported that  policy  do  not  exist  in  the  case  of  a 
Democratic  president.  Mr.  Hayes  made  a  virtue 
of  necessity.  He  had  fair  warning  that  not  a 
dollar  or  a  dime  vv^ould  be  voted  by  a  Democratic 
Congress  if  the  army  w^ere  kept  in  the  South, 
The  cry  of  the  country  was  ag;ainst  what  was 
called  ba3^onet  rule. 

"  Secondly,  the  president  may  pursue  a  tem- 
porizing policy ;  keep  the  word  of  promise  to  the 
ear  and  break  it  to  the  heart,  a  half-hearted,  a 
neither  hot  nor  cold,  a  good  Lord  and  a  good 
devil  policy.  He  may  seek  to  avoid  giving  offense 
to  any,  and  thus  succeed  in  pleasing  none ;  a  policy 
which  no  man  or  party  can  pursue  without  invit- 
ing and  earning  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  all 
honest  men,  and  of  all  honest  parties. 

"  Thirdly,  he  may  decide  to  accept  the  Mis- 
sissippi plan  of  conducting  elections  3±  the  South; 
encourage  violence  and  crime ;  elevate  to  ofHce 
the  men  whose  hands  are  reddest  v/ith  innocent 
blood ;  force  the  negroes  out  of  Southern  politics 
by  the  shotgun  and  the  bulldozer's  whip ;  cheat 
them  out  of  the  elective  franchise ;  suppress  the 
Republican  vote ;  kill  off  their  v/hite  leaders,  and 
keep  tlie  South  solid;  and  keep  its  one  hundred 


iJFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 39 

and  fifty-three  electoral  votes — obtained  thus  by 
force,  fraud,  and  red-handed  violence — ready  to  be 
cast  for  a  Democratic  candidate  in  1888.  This 
might  be  acceptable  to  a  certain  class  of  Demo- 
crats at  the  South,  but  the  Democrats  at  the 
North  would  abhor  and  denounce  it  as  a  bloody 
and  hell-black  policy.  It  would  hurl  the  party 
from  power  in  spite  of  the  solid  South,  and  keep 
it  out  of  power  another  four  and  twenty  years. 

"  Fourthly,  he  may  sustain  a  policy  of  absolute 
fidelity  to  ail  the  requirements  of  the  constitution 
as  it  is,  and,  as  John  Adams  said  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  he  miay  bravely  sa.y  to  the 
South  and  to  the  nation :  '  Sink  or  svv^im,  sur- 
vive or  perish,  I  am  for  the  constitution  in  all  its 
parts !  I  will  be  true  to  my  oath,  and  I  will,  to 
the  best  of  my  ability,  and  to  the  fullest  extent  of 
my  power,  defend,  protect,  and  maintain  the  rights 
of  all  citizens,  w^ithout  respect  to  race  or  color.' 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  which  of  these 
methods  of  treating  the  Southern  question  is  the 
most  honest  and  safe  one.  There  may  be  many 
wrong  ways  for  individuals  or  nations  to  pursue, 
but  there  is  but  one  right  way,  and  it  remains  to 
be  seen  if  this  is  the  one  the  present  administra- 
tion will  adopt  and  pursue.  Left  to  the  prompt- 
ings of  his  own  heart  and  his  own  view  of  his 
constitutional  duties,  and  to  his  own  sense  of  the 
requirements  of  consistency  and  even  expediency, 


140  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

I  firmly  believe  that  President  Cleveland  would  do 
his  utmost  to  protect  and  defend  the  constitutional 
rights  of  all  classes  of  citizens.  But  he  is  not  left 
to  himself,  and  may  adopt  a  different  policy. 

"One  thing  seems  plain,  which  it  is  well  for 
all  parties  to  know  and  consider.  It  is  this : 
There  are  seven  million  of  colored  citizens  now 
in  this  republic.  They  stand  between  the  two 
great  parties — the  Republican  party  and  the  Dem- 
ocratic party — and  whichever  of  these  two  parties 
shall  be  most  just  and  true  to  these  seven  million 
may  safely  count  upon  a  long  lease  of  power  in 
this  republic.  It  is  not  their  votes  alone  that  will 
tell.  There  is  deep  down  among  the  people  of 
this  country  a  love  of  justice  and  fair  pla)',  and 
that  fact  will  tell.  It  is  now  as  it  was  in  the  time 
of  war,  and  it  will  be  so  in  all  time.  The  party 
which  takes  the  negro  on  its  side  will  triumph. 
The  world  moves,  and  the  conditions  of  success 
and  failure  have  changed." 

At  another  place  in  the  same  address,  he  boldly 
and  truthfully  assigns  as  the  chief  reason  which 
caused  the  defeat  of  the  Republican  party  in  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1S84,  the  subordination 
of  the  principle  of  protection  to  the  rights  of  citi- 
zens in  the  issues  presented  lo  the  country. 

The  words  to  which  we  refer  are  as  follows : — 

"  The  great  mistake  made  by  the  leaders  of  the 
Republican  party  during  the  late  canvass  was  the 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  I4I 

failure  to  recognize  the  facts  now  stated,  and  their 
refusal  to  act  upon  them.  They  had  become 
tired  of  the  old  issues  and  wanted  new  ones. 
They  made  their  appeal  to  the  pocket  of  the 
nation,  and  not  to  the  heart  of  the  nation.  They 
attended  to  the  mint,  anise,  and  cummin  of  poli- 
tics, but  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law 
— judgment,  mercy,  and  faith.  They  were  loud 
for  the  protection  of  things,  but  silent  for  the  pro- 
tection of  men.  These  things  they  ought  to  have 
done,  and  not  to  have  left  the  other  undone. 

"  The  idea  that  righteousness  exalteth  a  nation, 
and  that  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people,  was,  for 
a  time,  lost  sight  of.  The  all  engrossing  thought 
of  the  cainpaign  was  a  judicious,  discriminating, 
protective  tariff.  The  great  thing  was  protection 
to  the  wool  of  Ohio ;  to  the  iron  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  to  American  m.anufacturers  generally.  Lit- 
tle was  said,  thought,  or  felt  about  national  integ- 
rity, the  importance  of  maintaining  good  faith 
with  the  f reedmen  or  the  Indian,  or  the  protection 
of  the  constitutional  rights  of  American  citizens, 
except  where  such  rights  were  in  no  danger. 

"  The  great  thing  to  be  protected  was  American 
industry  against  competition  with  the  pauper 
labor  of  Europe — not  protection  of  the  starving 
labor  of  the  South.  The  body  of  the  nation  was 
everything;  the  soul  of  the  nation  was  nothing. 
It  did  not  appear  from  the  campaign  speeches 


142  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

that  It  was  important  to  protect  and  preserve 
both,  or  that  the  body  was  not  more  dependent 
upon  bread  for  Kfe  than  was  the  soul  dependent 
upon  truth,  justice,  benevolence,  and  good  faith 
for  health  and  life.  In  the  absence  of  these,  the 
soul  of  the  nation  starves,  sickens,  and  dies.  It 
may  not  fall  at  once  upon  the  withdrav/al  of  these, 
but  persistent  injustice  will,  in  the  end,  do  its  cer- 
tain work  of  moral  destruction.  No  nation,  no 
party,  no  man,  can  live  long  and  flourish  on  false- 
hood, deceit,  injustice,  and  broken  pledges.  Loy- 
alty will  perish  where  protection  and  good  faith 
are  denied  and  withheld,  and  nothing  other  than 
this  should  be  expected,  either  by  a  party,  a  man, 
or  by  a  government.  On  the  other  hand,  where 
good  faith  is  maintained,  where  justice  is  upheld, 
where  truth  and  right  prevail,  the  government 
v/ill  be  like  the  wise  man's  house  in  scripture — the 
winds  may  blow,  the  rains  may  descend,  the  floods 
may  come  and  beat  upon  it,  but  it  will  stand,  be- 
cause it  is  founded  upon  the  solid  rock  of  princi- 
ple. I  speak  this,  not  only  for  the  Republican 
party,  but  for  all  parties.  Though  I  am  a  party 
man,  to  me  parties  are  valuable  only  as  they  sub- 
serve the  ends  of  good  government.  When  they 
persistently  violate  the  fundamental  rights  of  the 
humblest  and  weakest  in  the  land  I  scout  them, 
despise  them,  and  leave  them." 

The  third  address  was  delivered   in  the   Israel 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 43 

Methodist  Church,  April  i6,  1886.  The  orator 
speaks  of  the  rapid  growth  of  Washington  under 
freedom,  and  in  the  following  passage  vividly 
pictures  wha.t  it  would  have  become,  if  slavery 
had  continued  :— 

"  Fellovz-citizens,  v/e  are  proud  to-day,  and  justly 
proud,  of  the  prosperity  and  the  increasing  liber- 
ality of  Washington,  With  all  our  fellow-citizens 
v/e  behold  it  with  pride  and  pleasure  rising  and 
spreading  noiselessly  around  us,  almost  like  the 
temple  of  Solomon,  without  the  sound  of  a  ham- 
mer. New  faces  meet  us  at  the  corners  of  the 
streets  and  greet  us  in  the  m.arket  plaxes.  Con- 
veniences and  irn'orovements  are  multiplying  on 
every  hand.  We  walk  in  the  shade  of  its  beauti- 
ful trees  by  day,  and  in  the  rays  of  its  soft  electric 
lights  by  night.  We  make  it  warm  where  it  is 
cool,  and  cool  where  it  is  warm,  and  healthy  where 
it  is  noxious.  Our  magnificence  fills  the  stranger 
and  sojourner  with  admiration  and  wonder.  The 
contrast  between  the  old  time  of  slavery  and  the 
nev^^  dispensation  of  liberty  looms  upon  us  on 
every  hand.  We  feel  it  in  the  very  air  v/e  breathe, 
and  in  the  friendly  aspect  of  all  around  us.  But 
time  Vvould  fail  to  tell  of  the  vast  and  v/onderful 
advancem^ent  in  civilization  made  in  this  city  by 
the  abolition  of  slavery. 

Perhaps  a  better  idea  could  be  formed  of  what 
has   been  done  for  Washington    and    for   us  by 


144  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

imagining  what  would  be  the  case  in  a  return  to 
the  old  condition  of  things.  Imagine  the  wheels 
of  progress  reversed ;  imagine  that  by  some 
strange  and  mysterious  freak  of  fortune  slavery, 
with  all  its  horrid  concomitants,  was  revived ; 
imagine  that  under  the  dome  of  yonder  Capitol 
legislation  was  carried  on,  as  formerly,  by  men 
with  pistols  in  their  belts  and  bullets  in  their  pock- 
ets ;  imagine  the  right  of  speech  denied,  the  right 
of  petition  stamped  out,  the  press  of  the  District 
muzzled,  and  a  word  in  the  streets  against  slavery 
the  sign  for  a  mob  ;  imagine  a  lone  woman  like 
Miss  Myrtilla  Miner,  having  to  defend  her  right  to 
teach  colored  girls  to  read  and  write,  with  a  pistol 
in  her  hand,  here  in  this  very  city,  now  dotted  all 
over  with  colored  schools,  which  rival  in  magnif- 
icence the  white  schools  of  any  other  city  of  the 
Union  ;  imagine  this,  and  more,  and  ask  your- 
selves the  question  :  What  progress  has  been 
made  in  liberty  and  civilization  within  the  borders 
of  this  capital  ?  Further  on  let  us  ask  :  Of  what 
avail  would  be  our  cloud-capped  towers,  our  gor- 
geous palaces,  and  our  solemn  temples  if  slavery 
again  held  sway  here  ?  Of  what  avail  would  be 
our  marble  halls  if  once  more  they  resounded  with 
the  crack  of  the  slave  whip,  the  clank  of  the  fetter, 
and  the  rattle  of  chains  ;  if  slave  auctions  were 
held  in  front  of  the  halls  of  justice,  and  chain- 
gangs  were  marched  over  Pennsylvania  avenue  to 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS,  JR. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 45 

the  Long  Bridge,  for  the  New  Orleans  market  ? 
Of  what  avail  would  be  our  state  dinners,  our 
splendid  receptions,  if,  like  Babylon  of  old,  our 
people  were  making  merchandise  of  God's  image, 
trafficking  in  human  blood  and  in  the  souls  and 
bodies  of  men  ?  Were  this  District  once  more 
covered  with  this  moral  blight  and  mildew,  you 
would  hear  of  no  plans,  as  now,  for  celebrating 
within  its  borders  the  centennial  anniversary  of 
the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Bold  and  audacious  as  were  the  advo- 
cates of  slavery  in  the  olden  time,  they  would  have 
been  ashamed  to  invite  here  the  representatives 
of  the  civilized  world  to  inspect  the  workings  of 
their  slave  system.  To  have  done  so  would  have 
been  like  inviting  a  clean  man  to  touch  pitch,  a 
humane  man  to  witness  an  execution,  a  tender- 
hearted woman  to  witness  a  slaughter.  In  its 
boldest  days  slavery  drew  in  its  claws  and  pre- 
sented a  velvet  paw  to  strangers.  They  knevv^  it 
was  like  Lord  Granby's  character,  which  could 
only  pass  without  reprobation  as  it  passed  with- 
out observation.  Emancipation  liberated  the  mas- 
ter as  well  as  the  slave.  The  fact  that  our  citizens 
are  now  loudly  proclaiming  Washington  to  be  the 
right  place  for  the  celebration  of  the  discovery  of 
the  continent  by  Columbus,  and  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  is  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  and  attestation  of  the  higher 
10 


146  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

civilization  that  has,  in  their  judgment,  come  here 
with  the  abolition  of  slavery.  They  no  longer 
dread  the  gaze  of  civilized  men.  They  no  longer 
fear  lest  a  word  of  liberty  should  fall  into  the  ear 
of  a  trembling  captive  and  awaken  his  manhood. 
They  are  no  longer  required  to  defend  with  their 
lips  what  they  must  have  condemned  in  their 
hearts.  When  the  galling  chain  dropped  from 
the  limbs  of  the  slave,  the  mantle  of  shame 
dropped  from  the  brows  of  their  masters.  The 
emancipation  of  the  one  was  the  deliverance  of 
the  other;  so  that  this  day,  in  fact,  belongs  to  the 
one  as  truly  as  it  belongs  to  the  other,  though  it  is 
left  to  us  alone  to  keep  it  in  memory." 

The  largest  and  most  representative  conven- 
tion of  colored  men  ever  held  in  the  United 
States  was  held  in  Liederkranz  Hall,  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  September  25-27,  1883.  It  was,  in 
fact,  their  first  real  7iational  convention.  There 
were  in  attendance  nearly  three  hundred  dele- 
gates from  twenty-eight  states.  Mr.  Douglass 
was  chosen  permanent  president  and  addressed 
the  convention.  His  speech  on  this  occasion,  for 
sound  reasoning  and  eloquence  of  expression,  is 
not  surpassed  by  the  most  distinguished  orators 
of  our  time. 

The  Louisville  Courier- Jo2irnal,  one  of  the 
best  known  Democratic  newspapers  in  the  coun- 
try, in  its  issue  of    September    26,  speaking   of 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 47 

the  convention  and  Mr.  Douglass'  great  effort 
says : — 

"  The  convention  was  called  to  order  by  Hon. 
Frederick  Douglass,  the  permanent  chairman, 
who  called  upon  Dr.  Arnett,  of  Nashville,  to  offer 
prayer.  At  its  close,  the  New  Orleans  Jubilee 
Singers  chanted  the  Lord's  prayer  in  a  most 
exquisite  and  impressive  manner.  The  chairman 
then  introduced  Dr.  K.  Fitzbutler,  who  delivered 
an  address  of  welcome  to  the  delegates.  His 
remarks  were  well  put  and  were  received  with 
applause. 

"  Mr.  Douglass  then  began  his  address  in  a  sub- 
dued tone  of  voice,  but  as  he  warmed  up  he  g^ew 
louder  and  soon  filled  the  hall  with  his  utterances. 
Discovering  in  the  audience  Hon.  James  Speed, 
President  Lincoln's  last  attorney-general,  and 
Gen.  James  A.  Ekin,  the  speaker  invited  them  to 
the  stage,  where  they  were  seated  on  the  left  of  the 
speaker.  The  hall  was  filling  rapidly,  and  by  the 
time  Douglass  began  to  infuse  the  audience  with 
the  inspiration  that  he  felt,  a  large  number  of 
white  citizens  were  seated  in  the  hall.  It  was  evi- 
dent from  the  first  that  the  convention  expected 
something  grand,  and  it  is  but  the  truth  to  say  that 
they  were  not  disappointed  in  Mr.  Douglass.  In 
the  language  of  R.  A.  Jones,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
'  It  was  the  grandest  effort  ever  made  by  a  col- 
ored  American.'     As  he   proceeded,  he  came  to 


148  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

many  places  where  he  seemed  to  halt  in  his  prog- 
ress, and,  in  lofty  flights  of  eloquence  and  logic, 
ascend  to  a  plane  never  visited  by  speakers  en- 
gaged in  the  discussion  of  the  questions  which  he 
had  taken  up.  It  frequently  became  necessary 
for  him  to  wait  several  moments  for  the  enthu- 
siasm to  subside." 

Here  are  a  few  passages  from  the  Louisville 
speech : — 

"  Why  are  we  here  in  this  national  conven- 
tion ?  To  this  we  answer,  first,  because  there  is 
a  power  in  numbers  and  in  union ;  because  the 
many  are  more  than  the  few  ;  because  the  voice 
of  a  whole  people,  oppressed  by  a  common  injus- 
tice, is  far  more  likely  to  command  attention  and 
exert  an  influence  on  the  public  mind,  than  the 
voice  of  single  individuals  and  isolated  organiza- 
tions ;  because,  coming  together  from  all  parts  of 
the  country,  the  members  of  a  national  conven- 
tion have  the  means  of  a  more  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  general  situation,  and  may, 
therefore,  fairly  be  presumed  to  conceive  more 
clearly  and  express  more  fully  and  wisely  the 
policy  it  may  be  necessary  for  them  to  pursue  in 
the  premises.  Because  conventions  of  the  people 
are  in  themselves  harmless,  and  when  made  the 
means  of  setting  forth  grievances,  whether  real 
or  fancied,  they  are  the  safety-valves  of  the  re- 
public, a  wise    and  safe   substitute  for  violence. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  I49 

dynamite,  and  all  sorts  of  revolutionary  action 
against  the  peace  and  good  order  of  society.  If 
they  are  held  without  sufficient  reason,  that  fact 
will  be  made  manifest  in  their  proceedings,  and 
people  will  only  smile  at  their  weakness  and  pass 
on  to  their  usual  business  without  troubling 
themselves  about  the  empty  noise  they  are  able 
to  make.  But  if  held  with  good  cause  and  by 
wise,  sober,  and  earnest  men,  that  fact  will  be 
made  apparent  and  the  result  will  be  salutary. 
That  good  old  maxim,  which  has  come  down  to 
us  from  revolutionary  times,  that  error  may  be 
safely  tolerated,  while  truth  is  left  free  to  combat 
it,  applies  here.  A  bad  law  is  all  the  sooner  re- 
pealed by  being  executed,  and  error  is  sooner  dis- 
pelled by  exposure  than  by  silence.  So  much  we 
have  deemed  it  fit  to  say  of  conventions  generally, 
because  our  resort  to  this  measure  has  been 
treated  by  many  as  if  there  were  something  radi- 
cally wrong  in  the  very  idea  of  a  convention.  It 
has  been  treated  as  if  it  were  some  ghastly,  secret 
conclave,  sitting  in  darkness  to  devise  strife  and 
mischief.  The  fact  is,  the  only  serious  feature  in 
the  argument  against  us  is  the  one  which  respects 
color.  We  are  asked  not  only  why  hold  a  con- 
vention, but,  with  emphasis,  why  hold  a  colored 
convention  ?  Why  keep  up  this  odious  distinc- 
tion between  citizens  of  a  common  country  and 
thus  give  countenance  to  the  color  line  ?     It  is 


150  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

argued  that,  if  colored  men  hold  conventions 
based  upon  color,  white  men  may  hold  white  con- 
ventions based  upon  color,  and  thus  keep  open 
the  chasm  between  one  and  the  other  class  of 
citizens,  and  keep  alive  a  prejudice  which  we  pro- 
fess to  deplore.  We  state  the  argument  against 
us  fairly  and  forcibly,  and  will  answer  it  candidly 
and,  we  hope,  conclusively.  By  that  answer  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  force  of  the  objection  is,  after  all, 
more  in  sound  than  in  substance.  No  reasonable 
man  will  ever  object  to  white  men  holding  con- 
ventions in  their  own  interests,  when  they  are 
once  in  our  condition  and  we  in  theirs,  when  they 
are  the  oppressed  and  we  the  oppressors.  In 
point  of  fact,  however,  white  men  are  already  in 
convention  against  us  in  various  ways  and  at 
many  important  points.  The  practical  construc- 
tion of  American  life  is  a  convention  against  us. 
Human  law  may  know  no  distinction  among  men 
in  respect  of  rights,  but  human  practice  may. 
Examples  are  painfully  abundant. 

"  Civil  Rights. 

"  The  right  of  every  American  citizen  to  select 
his  own  society,  and  invite  whom  he  will  to  his 
own  parlor  and  table,  should  be  sacredly  re- 
spected. A  man's  house  is  his  castle,  and  he  has 
a  right  to  admit  or  refuse  admission  to  it  as  he 
may  please,  and  defend  his    house  from  all  in- 


Life  of  Frederick  Douglass.  151 

truders  even  with  force,  if  need  be.  This  right 
belongs  to  the  humblest  not  less  than  the  high- 
est, and  the  exercise  of  it  by  any  of  our  citizens 
toward  any  person  or  class  who  may  presume  to 
intrude,  should  cause  no  complaint,  for  each  and 
all  may  exercise  the  same  right  toward  whom  he 
will. 

"  When  he  quits  his  home  and  goes  upon  the 
public  street,  enters  a  public  car  or  a  public  house, 
he  has  no  exclusive  right  of  occupancy.  He  is 
only  a  part  of  the  great  public,  and  while  he  has 
the  right  to  walk,  ride,  and  be  accommodated  with 
food  and  shelter  in  a  public  conveyance  or  hotel, 
he  has  no  exclusive  right  to  say  that  another  citi- 
zen, tall  or  short,  black  or  white,  shall  not  have  the 
same  civil  treatment  with  himself.  The  argu- 
ment against  equal  rights  at  hotels  is  very  im- 
properly put  upon  the  ground  that  the  exercise 
of  such  rights  is  social  equality.  But  this  ground 
is  unreasonable.  It  is  hard  to  say  what  social 
equality  is,  but  it  is  certain  that  going  into  the 
same  street  car,  hotel,  or  steamboat  cabin,  does  ,  H 
not  make  any  man  society  for  another  any  more  l}  ^ 
than  flying  in  the  same  air  makes  all  birds  of 
one  feather. 

"  Two  men  may  be  seated  at  the  same  table  at 
a  hotel,  one  may  be  a  Webster  in  intellect,  and 
the  other  a  Guiteau  in  feebleness  of  mind  and 
morals,  and,  of  course,  socially  and  intellectually 


152  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

they  are  as  wide  apart  as  are  the  poles  of  the 
moral  universe,  but  their  civil  rights  are  the  same. 
The  distinction  between  the  two  sorts  of  equality 
is  broad  and  plain  to  the  understanding  of  the 
most  limited,  and  yet,  blinded  by  prejudice,  men 
never  cease  to  confound  one  with  the  other,  and 
allow  themselves  to  infrino;e  the  civil  rio^hts  of 
their  fellow-citizens,  as  if  those  rights  were  in 
some  way  in  violation  of  their  social  rights. 

"  That  this  denial  of  rights  to  us  is  because  of 
our  color,  only  as  color  is  a  badge  of  condition,  is 
manifest  in  the  fact  that  no  matter  how  decently 
dressed  or  well-behaved  a  colored  man  may  be, 
he  is  denied  civil  treatment  in  the  ways  thus 
pointed  out,  unless  he  comes  as  a  servant.  His 
color,  not  his  character,  determines  the  place  he 
shall  hold  and  the  kind  of  treatment  he  shall  re- 
ceive. That  this  is  due  to  a  prejudice  and  has  no 
rational  principle  under  it,  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
the  presence  of  colored  persons  in  hotels  and  rail 
cars  is  only  offensive  when  they  are  there  as  guests 
and  passengers.  As  servants  they  are  welcome, 
but  as  equal  citizens  they  are  not.  It  is  also  seen 
in  the  further  fact  that  nowhere  else  on  the  globe, 
except  in  the  United  States,  are  colored  people 
subject  to  insult  and  outrage  on  account  of  color. 
The  colored  traveler  in  Europe  does  not  meet  it, 
and  we  denounce  it  here  as  a  disgrace  to  Ameri- 
can civilization  and  American  religion  and  as  a 


I 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 5 


o 


violation  of  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States.  From  those  courts 
which  have  solemnly  sworn  to  support  the  con- 
stitution, and  that  yet  treat  this  provision  of  it 
with  contempt,  we  appeal  to  the  people,  and  call 
upon  our  friends  to  remember  our  civil  rights  at 
the  ballot-box.  On  the  point  of  the  two  equali- 
ties we  are  determined  to  be  understood. 

"  We  leave  social  equality  where  it  should  be 
left,  with  each  individual  man  and  woman.  No 
law  can  regulate  or  control  it.  It  is  a  matter 
with  which  governments  have  nothing  whatever 
to  do.  Each  may  choose  his  own  friends  and 
associates  without  interference  or  dictation  of  any. 

"  Political  Equality. 

"  Flagrant  as  have  been  the  outrages  com- 
mitted upon  colored  citizens  in  respect  to  their 
civil  rights,  more  flagrant,  shocking,  and  scan- 
dalous still  have  been  the  outrages  committed 
upon  our  political  rights,  by  means  of  bulldoz- 
ing and  Kukluxing,  Mississippi  plans,  fraudulent 
counts,  tissue  ballots,  and  the  like  devices.  Three 
states  in  which  the  colored  people  outnumber  the 
white  population  are  without  colored  representa- 
tion, and  their  political  voice  suppressed.  The 
colored  citizens  in  those  states  are  virtually  dis- 
franchised, the  constitution  held  in  utter  con- 
tempt, and  its  provisions  nullified.     This  has  been 


154  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

done  in  the  face  of  the  Republican  party  and 
successive  RepubHcan  administrations. 

"  It  was  once  said  by  the  great  O'Connell  that 
the  history  of  Ireland  might  be  traced  like  a 
wounded  man  through  a  crowd  by  the  blood,  and 
the  same  may  be  truly  said  of  the  history  of  the 
colored  voters  of  the  South. 

"  They  have  marched  to  the  ballot-box  in  face 
of  gleaming  weapons,  wounds,  and  death.  They 
have  been  abandoned  by  the  government  and 
left  to  the  laws  of  nature.  So  far  as  they  are  con- 
cerned, there  is  no  government  or  constitution 
of  the  United  States.  They  are  under  control  of 
a  foul,  haggard,  and  damning  conspiracy  against 
reason,  law,  and  constitution.  How  you  can  be 
indifferent,  how  any  leading  colored  men  can 
allow  themselves  to  be  silent  in  presence  of  this 
state  of  things,  we  cannot  see. 

"  *  Should  tongues  be  mute  while  deeds  are  wrought 
Which  well  might  shame  extremest  hell  ?  ' 

And  yet  they  are  mute,  and  condemn  our  assem- 
bling here  to  speak  out  in  manly  tones  against 
the  continuance  of  this  infernal  reign  of  terror. 

"  This  is  no  question  of  party.  It  is  a  question 
of  law  and  government.  It  is  a  question  whether 
men  shall  be  protected  by  law  or  be  left  to  the 
mercy  of  cyclones  of  anarchy  and  bloodshed.  It 
is  whether  the  government  or  the  mob  shall  rule 
this  land ;  whether  the  promises  solemnly  made 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 55 

to  US  in  the  constitution  be  manfully  kept  or 
meanly  and  flagrantly  broken.  Upon  this  vital 
point  we  ask  the  whole  people  of  the  United 
States  to  take  notice  that  whatever  of  political 
power  we  have  shall  be  exerted  for  no  man  of 
any  party  who  will  not  in  advance  of  election 
promise  to  use  every  power  given  him  by  the  gov- 
ernment, state  or  national,  to  make  the  black 
man's  path  to  the  ballot-box  as  straight,  smooth, 
and  safe  as  that  of  any  other  American  citizen. 

"  Political  Ambition. 

"  We  are  as  a  people  often  reproached  with  am- 
bition for  political  offices  and  honors.  We  are 
not  ashamed  of  this  alleged  ambition.  Our  des- 
titution of  such  ambition  would  be  our  real  shame. 
If  the  six  millions  and  a  half  of  people  whom  we 
represent  could  develop  no  aspirants  to  political 
office  and  honor  under  this  government,  their 
mental  indifference,  barrenness,  and  stolidity 
might  well  enough  be  taken  as  proof  of  their  un- 
fitness for  American  citizenship. 

"  It  is  no  crime  to  seek  or  hold  office.  If  it  were 
it  would  take  a  larger  space  than  that  of  Noah's 
ark  to  hold  the  white  criminals. 

"  One  of  the  charges  against  this  convention  is 
that  it  seeks  for  the  colored  people  a  larger  share 
than  they  now  possess  in  the  offices  and  emolu- 
ments of  the  government 


156  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

"  We  are  now  significantly  reminded  by  even 
one  of  our  own  members  that  we  are  only  twenty 
years  out  of  slavery,  and  we  ought  therefore  to  be 
modest  in  our  aspirations.  Such  leaders  should 
remember  that  men  will  not  be  religious  when  the 
devil  turns  preacher. 

"  The  inveterate  and  persistent  office-seeker  and 
office-holder  should  be  modest  when  he  preaches 
that  virtue  to  others  which  he  does  not  himself 
practice.  Wolsey  could  not  tell  Cromwell  to 
fling  away  ambition  properly  only  when  he  had 
flung  away  his  own. 

"  We  are  far  from  affirming  that  there  may  not 
be  too  much  zeal  among  colored  men  in  pursuit 
of  political  preferment ;  but  the  fault  is  not 
wholly  theirs.  They  have  young  men  among 
them  noble  and  true,  who  are  educated  and  intel- 
ligent— fit  to  engage  in  enterprise  of  '  pith  and 
moment ' — who  find  themselves  shut  out  from 
nearly  all  the  avenues  of  wealth  and  respecta- 
bility, and  hence  they  turn  their  attention  to  poli- 
tics. They  do  so  because  they  can  find  nothing 
else.  The  best  cure  for  the  evil  is  to  throw  open 
other  avenues  and  activities  to  them. 

"  We  shall  never  cease  to  be  a  despised  and  per- 
secuted class  while  we  are  known  to  be  excluded 
by  our  color  from  all  important  positions  under 
the  government. 

'*  While  we  do  not  make  office  the  one  thing  im- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 57 

portant,  nor  the  one  condition  of  our  alliance 
with  any  party,  and  hold  that  the  welfare,  pros- 
perity, and  happiness  of  our  whole  country  is  the 
true  criterion  of  political  action  for  ourselves  and 
for  all  men,  we  cannot  disguise  from  ourselves  the 
fact  that  our  persistent  exclusion  from  ofHce  as  a 
class  is  a  great  wrong,  fraught  with  injury,  and 
ought  to  be  resented  and  opposed  by  all  reason- 
able and  effective  means  in  our  power. 

"  We  hold  it  to  be  self-evident  that  no  class  or 
color  should  be  the  exclusive  rulers  of  this  coun- 
try. If  there  is  such  a  ruling  class,  there  must 
of  course  be  a  subject  class,  and  when  this  condi- 
tion is  once  established  this  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people  will  have 
perished  from  the  earth." 

In  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C,  October 
22,  1883,  a  vast  number  of  citizens  assembled  in 
Lincoln  hall  to  give  expression  to  their  views 
concerning  the  recent  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  in  which  it  is  held 
that  the  Civil  Rights  Act  is  unconstitutional. 
Addresses  were  delivered  by  Hon.  Frederick 
Douglass,  Col.  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  Judge  Sam- 
uel Shellabarger,  and  Rev.  J.  E.  Rankin,  D.D. 

The  National  Republican  the  next  morning  in 
its  comment  upon  the  meeting,  said  :  "  In  all  its 
history  Lincoln  hall  was  never  so  crowded  as  last 
night.     There  was  no  standing  room — there  was 


158  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

scarcely  even  breathing  room.  Stage  and  floor 
were  alike  crowded.  There  were  over  two  thou- 
sand persons  inside  the  doors,  and  double  that 
number  turned  reluctantly  away  after  finding  it 
impossible  to  get  in.  In  point  of  numbers  it  was 
the  largest  meeting  ever  gathered  in  a  Washing- 
ton hall.  The  occasion  was  as  equally  remark- 
able as  the  attendance  in  bringing  together  all  the 
most  prominent  colored  citizens  of  the  district,  as 
well  as  many  distinguished  whites.  All  the  famous 
leaders  of  the  race  were  present — Frederick  Doug- 
lass, Blanche  Bruce,  Richard  T.  Greener,  John  F. 
Cook,  Rev.  Francis  Grimke,  and  others.  Present 
with  them  were  such  white  representatives  as  Col. 
R.  G.  IngersoU,  Rev.  J.  E.  Rankin,  Judge  Shella- 
barger,  President  Patton  of  Howard  University, 
and  others  equally  famous  for  their  efforts  in  the 
religious  and  political  world  in  behalf  of  equal 
rights  and  justice.  Hundreds  of  white  ladies 
were  seated  on  the  stas^e  and  in  the  audience. 

"A  few  of  those  on  the  stage  were  Judge  Law- 
rence, A.  M.  Clapp,  Judge  Shellabarger,  M.  M. 
Holland,  Rev.  G.  W.  Moore,  Perry  Carson,  Col- 
lector Cook,  Rev.  Francis  Grimk6,  Prof.  Gregory, 
Frederick  Douglass,  Jr.,  L.  H.  Douglass,  Rev. 
A.  W.  Upshaw,  Rev.  William  Waring,  Dr.  O.  M. 
Atwood,  Dr.  Francis,  Calvin  Chase,  Mrs.  Belva 
Lockwood,  President  W.  W.  Patton  of  Howard 
University,  Prof.  Wiley  Lane." 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 59 

Prof.  J.  M.  Gregory  presided,  and  in  introduc- 
ing Hon,  Frederick  Douglass,  said  : — 

"  It  is  our  good  fortune  to  have  with  us  one  who 
needs  no  extended  introduction  to  an  American 
audience  ;  a  man  whose  fame,  not  confined  to  the 
borders  of  his  own  country,  has  gone  throughout 
the  civilized  world,  and  whose  utterances  at  the 
late  Louisville  convention,  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
all,  were  compared  by  the  press  of  the  country 
with  the  great  speeches  of  England's  statesmen, 
John  Bright  and  William  Gladstone.  This  emi- 
nent man,  whom  it  is  my  privilege  to  introduce,  is 
the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  negro  race  in 
America,  and  that  people  look  to  him,  more  than 
to  any  other,  for  advice  and  guidance  at  this  par- 
ticular crisis  in  their  history.  The  Honorable 
Frederick  Douglass  will  now  address  you." 

Mr.  Douglass  came  forward  amid  deafening 
applause  and  delivered  one  of  the  ablest  speeches 
of  his  life.  We  quote  a  few  passages  to  show  his 
style  of  vehement  eloquence  and  invective,  and  to 
give  some  idea  of  his  exhaustive  argument. 

"  The  cause  which  has  brought  us  here  to-night 
is  neither  common  nor  trivial.  Few  events  in 
our  national  history  have  surpassed  it  in  magni- 
tude, importance,  and  significance.  It  has  swept 
over  the  land  like  a  moral  cyclone,  leaving  moral 
desolation  in  its  track. 

"  We  feel  it  as  we   felt  the   furious    attempt. 


l6o  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

years  ago,  to  force  the  accursed  system  of  slavery 
upon  the  soil  of  Kansas,  the  enactment  of  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  I  look 
upon  it  as  one  more  shocking  development  of 
that  moral  weakness  in  high  places  which  has 
attended  the  conflict  between  the  spirit  of  liberty 
and  the  spirit  of  slavery  from  the  beginning,  and 
I  venture  to  predict  that  it  will  be  so  regarded  by 
after-coming  generations. 

"  Far  down  the  ages,  when  men  shall  wish  to 
inform  themselves  as  to  the  real  state  of  liberty, 
law,  religion,  and  civilization  in  the  United  States 
at  this  juncture  of  our  history,  they  will  overhaul 
the  proceedings  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  read 
the  decision  declaring  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  uncon- 
stitutional and  void. 

"  From  this  they  will  learn  more  than  from 
many  volumes,  how  far  we  have  advanced,  in  this 
year  of  grace,  from  barbarism  toward  civilization. 

"  Fellow-citizens,  among  the  great  evils  which 
now  stalk  abroad  in  our  land,  the  one,  I  think, 
which  most  threatens  to  undermine  and  destroy 
the  foundations  of  our  free  institutions  is  the  great 
and  apparently  increasing  want  of  respect  enter- 
tained for  those  to  whom  are  committed  the  re- 
sponsibility and  the  duty  of  administering  our 
government.  On  this  point  I  think  all  good  men 
must  agree,  and  against  this  evil  I  trust  you  feel, 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  l6l 

and  we  all  feel,  the  deepest  repugnance,  and  that 
we  will,  neither  here  nor  elsewhere,  give  it  the 
least  breath  of  sympathy  or  encouragement.  We 
should  never  forget,  that  whatever  may  be  the  in- 
cidental mistakes  or  misconduct  of  rulers,  gov- 
ernment is  better  than  anarchy,  and  patient  reform 
is  better  than  violent  revolution. 

"  But  while  I  would  increase  this  feeling,  and 
give  it  the  emphasis  of  a  voice  from  heaven,  it 
must  not  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  free  speech, 
honest  expression,  and  fair  criticism.  To  give  up 
this  would  be  to  give  up  liberty,  to  give  up  prog- 
ress, and  to  consign  the  nation  to  moral  stagna- 
tion, putrefaction,  and  death. 

"  In  the  matter  of  respect  for  dignitaries,  it 
should  never  be  forgotten,  however,  that  duties 
are  reciprocal,  and  while  the  people  should  frown 
down  every  manifestation  of  levity  and  contempt 
for  those  in  power,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  possessors 
of  power  so  to  use  it  as  to  deserve  and  insure  re- 
spect and  reverence. 

"  To  come  a  little  nearer  to  the  case  now  before 
us.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in 
the  exercise  of  its  high  and  vast  constitutional 
power,  has  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  decided 
that  the  law,  intended  to  secure  to  colored  people 
the  civil  rights  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  follow- 
ing provision  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  is  unconstitutional  and  void.     Here  it  is : — 


11 


1 62  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS, 

"  '  No  state,'  says  the  fourteenth  amendment, 
*  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall 
abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States;  nor  shall  any  state  deprive 
any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without 
due  process  of  law ;  nor  deny  any  person  wathin 
its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws.' 

"  Now,  when  a  bill  has  been  discussed  for  weeks 
and  months,  and  even  years,  in  the  press  and  on 
the  platform,  in  Congress  and  out  of  Congress  ; 
when  it  has  been  calmly  debated  by  the  clearest 
heads,  and  the  most  skillful  and  learned  lawyers 
in  the  land  ;  when  every  argument  against  it  has 
been  over  and  over  again  carefully  considered 
and  fairly  answered  ;  when  its  constitutionality 
has  been  especially  discussed, /r^  and  con  ;  when 
it  has  passed  the  United  State  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  has  been  solemnly  enacted  by  the 
United  States  Senate,  perhaps  the  most  imposing 
legislative  body  in  the  world ;  when  such  a  bill 
has  been  submitted  to  the  cabinet  of  the  nation, 
composed  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  land  ;  when  it 
has  passed  under  the  scrutinizing  eye  of  the  attor- 
ney-general of  the  United  States;  when  the  exec- 
utive of  the  nation  has  given  to  it  his  name  and 
formal  approval ;  when  it  has  taken  its  place 
upon  the  statute  book,  and  has  remained  there  for 
nearly  a  decade,  and  the  country  has  largely 
assented  to  it,  you  will  agree  with  me  that  the 


Hon.  JOHN  M.  HARLAN, 

Associate  Justice  U.  S.  Suj^reme  Court. 

Justice  Harlan  dissented  from  his  colleagues  in  the  Civil  Rights  Bill  decision,  by 

upholding  its  constitutionality. 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.       1 63 

reasons  for  declaring  such  a  law  unconstitutional 
and  void  should  be  strong,  irresistible,  and  abso- 
lutely conclusive. 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  law  in  question  is  a  law  in 
favor  of  liberty  and  justice,  it  ought  to  have  had 
the  benefit  of  any  doubt  which  could  arise  as  to 
its  strict  constitutionality.  This,  I  believe,  will 
be  the  view  taken  of  it,  not  only  by  laymen  like 
myself,  but  by  eminent  lawyers  as  well." 

.U.  4f.  ^  4^  ^  *U.  «U. 

-yF  w  V?  w  "TV*  "A*  ^ 

"  Color  prejudice  is  not  the  only  prejudice 
against  which  a  republic  like  ours  should  guard. 
The  spirit  of  caste  is  dangerous  everywhere. 
There  is  the  prejudice  of  the  rich  against  the 
poor,  the  pride  and  prejudice  of  the  idle  dandy 
against  the  hard  handed  working  man.  There 
is,  worst  of  all,  religious  prejudice  ;  a  prejudice 
which  has  stained  a  whole  continent  wath  blood. 
It  is,  in  fact,  a  spirit  infernal,  against  which  every 
enlightened  man  should  wage  perpetual  war.  Per- 
haps no  class  of  our  fellow-citizens  has  carried  this 
prejudice  against  color  to  a  point  more  extreme 
and  dangerous  than  have  our  Catholic  Irish  fel- 
low-citizens, and  yet  no  people  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  have  been  more  relentlessly  persecuted  and 
oppressed  on  account  of  race  and  religion,  than 
the  Irish  people. 

"  But  in  Ireland,  persecution  has  at  last  reached 
a  point  where  it  reacts  terribly  upon  her  persecu- 


164  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

tors.  England  to-day  is  reaping  the  bitter  con- 
sequences of  her  injustice  and  oppression.  Ask 
any  man  of  intelligence  to-day,  '  What  is  the  chief 
source  of  England's  weakness?  '  '  What  has  re- 
duced her  to  the  rank  of  a  second-class  power  ?  ' 
and  the  answer  will  be  'Ireland!'  Poor,  ragged, 
hungry,  starving,  and  oppressed  as  she  is,  she  is 
strong  enough  to  be  a  standing  menace  to  the 
power  and  glory  of  England. 

"  Fellow-citizens !  we  want  no  black  Ireland 
in  America.  We  want  no  aggrieved  class  in 
America.  Strong  as  we  are  without  the  negro, 
we  are  stronger  with  him  than  without  him.  The 
power  and  friendship  of  seven  millions  of  people 
scattered  all  over  the  country,  however  humble, 
are  not  to  be  despised. 

"To-day,  our  republic  sits  as  a  queen  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  Peace  is  within  her 
walls  and  plenteousness  within  her  palaces,  but 
he  is  a  bolder  and  a  far  more  hopeful  man  than  I 
am,  who  will  affirm  that  this  peace  and  prosperity 
will  always  last.  History  repeats  itself.  What 
has  happened  once  may  happen  again. 

"  The  negro,  in  the  Revolution,  fought  for  us 
and  with  us.  In  the  war  of  1S12  General  Jack- 
son, at  New  Orleans,  found  it  necessary  to  call 
upon  the  colored  people  to  assist  in  its  defense 
against  England.  Abraham  Lincoln  found  it 
necessary  to  call  upon  the  negro  to  defend  the 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 65 

Union  against  rebellion,  and  the  negro  responded 
gallantly  in  all  cases. 

"  Our  legislators,  our  presidents,  and  our  judges 
should  have  a  care,  lest,  by  forcing  these  people 
outside  of  law,  they  destroy  that  love  of  country 
which  is  needful  to  the  nation's  defense  in  the 
day  of  trouble.  I  am  not  here,  in  this  presence, 
to  discuss  the  constitutionality  or  unconstitution- 
ality of  this  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
decision  may  or  may  not  be  constitutional.  That 
is  a  question  for  lawyers,  and  not  for  laymen,  and 
there  are  lawyers  on  this  platform  as  learned,  able, 
and  eloquent  as  any  who  have  appeared  in  this 
case  before  the  Supreme  Court,  or  as  any  in  the 
land.  To  these  I  leave  the  exposition  of  the  con- 
stitution ;  but  I  claim  the  right  to  remark  upon  a 
strange  and  glaring  inconsistency  with  former 
decisions,  in  the  action  of  the  court  on  this  Civil 
Rights  Bill.  It  is  a  new  departure,  entirely  out 
of  the  line  of  the  precedents  and  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  at  other  times  and  in  other  direc- 
tions where  the  rights  of  colored  men  were  con- 
cerned. It  has  utterly  ignored  and  rejected  the 
force  and  application  of  object  and  intention  as  a 
rule  of  interpretation.  It  has  construed  the  con- 
stitution in  defiant  disregard  of  what  was  the 
object  and  intention  of  the  adoption  of  the  four- 
teenth amendment.  It  has  made  no  account 
whatever  of  the  intention  and  purpose  of  Con- 


1 66  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

gress  and  the  president  in  putting  the  Civil 
Rights  Bill  upon  the  statute  book  of  the  nation. 
It  has  seen  fit  in  this  case,  affecting  a  weak  and 
much  persecuted  people,  to  be  guided  by  the  nar- 
rowest and  most  restricted  rules  of  legal  inter- 
pretation. It  has  viewed  both  the  constitution 
and  the  law  with  a  strict  regard  to  their  letter, 
but  without  any  generous  recognition  of  their 
broad  and  liberal  spirit.  Upon  those  narrow 
principles  the  decision  is  logical  and  legal,  of 
course.  But  what  I  complain  of,  and  what  every 
lover  of  liberty  in  the  United  States  has  a  right 
to  complain  of,  is  this  sudden  and  causeless  re- 
versal of  all  the  great  rules  of  legal  interpretation 
by  which  this  court  was  governed  in  other  days, 
in  the  construction  of  the  constitution  and  of 
laws  respecting  colored  people. 

"  In  the  dark  days  of  slavery,  this  court,  on  all 
occasions,  gave  the  greatest  importance  to  inteyt- 
tion  as  a  guide  to  interpretation.  The  object  and 
intention  of  the  law,  it  was  said,  must  prevail. 
Everything  in  favor  of  slavery  and  against  the 
negro  was  settled  by  this  object  and  inteiition. 
The  constitution  was  construed  according  to  its 
intention.  We  were  over  and  over  again  referred 
to  what  the  framers  meant,  and  plain  language 
was  sacrificed  that  the  so  affirmed  inte^ition  of 
these  framers  might  be  positively  asserted.  When 
we  said  in  behalf  of  the  negro  that  the  constitu- 


LIFE   OF    FREDERICK   DOUGLASS.  1 67 

tion  of  the  United  States  was  intended  to  estab- 
lish justice  and  to  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  we  were  told  that 
the  words  said  so,  but  that  that  was  obviously  not 
its  intention ;  that  it  was  intended  to  apply  only 
to  white  people,  and  that  the  intentio7i  must 
govern. 

"  When  we  came  to  that  clause  of  the  constitu- 
tion which  declares  that  the  immigration  or  im- 
portation of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  states  may 
see  fit  to  admit  shall  not  be  prohibited,  and  the 
friends  of  liberty  declared  that  that  provision  of 
the  constitution  did  not  describe  the  slave  trade, 
they  were  told  that  while  its  language  applied 
not  to  slaves,  but  to  persons,  still  the  object 
and  intentio7t  of  that  clause  of  the  constitution 
was  plainly  to  protect  the  slave  trade,  and  that 
that  intention  was  the  law.  When  we  came  to  that 
clause  of  the  constitution  which  declares  that 
'  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state, 
under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another, 
shall  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation 
therein  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor, 
but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to 
whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due,'  we  in- 
sisted that  it  neither  described  nor  applied  to 
slaves ;  that  it  applied  only  to  persons  owing 
service  and  labor,  that  slaves  did  not  and  could 
not  owe  service  and  labor ;  that  this  clause  of  the 


1 68  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

constitution  said  nothing  of  slaves  or  the  mas- 
ters of  slaves ;  that  it  was  silent  as  to  slave  states 
or  free  states  ;  that  it  was  simply  a  provision  to 
enforce  a  contract ;  to  discharge  an  obligation 
between  two  persons  capable  of  making  a  con- 
tract, and  not  to  force  any  man  into  slavery,  for 
the  slave  could  not  owe  service  or  make  a  con- 
tract. 

"  We  affirmed  that  it  gave  no  warrant  for  what 
was  called  the  '  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,'  and  we 
contended  that  that  bill  was  therefore  unconstitu- 
tional ;  but  our  arguments  were  laughed  to  scorn 
by  that  court.  We  were  told  that  the  intention 
of  the  constitution  was  to  enable  masters  to  re- 
capture their  slaves,  and  that  the  law  of  ninety- 
three  and  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850  were 
constitutional. 

"  Fellow-citizens  !  while  slavery  was  the  base 
line  of  American  society,  while  it  ruled  the  church 
and  the  state,  while  it  was  the  interpreter  of  our 
law  and  the  exponent  of  our  religion,  it  admitted 
no  quibbling,  no  narrow  rules  of  legal  or  scrip- 
tural interpretations  of  Bible  or  constitution.  It 
sternly  demanded  its  pound  of  flesh,  no  matter 
how  much  blood  was  shed  in  the  taking  of  it. 
It  was  enough  for  it  to  be  able  to  show  the  hite^i- 
tio7i  to  get  all  it  asked  in  the  courts  or  out  of  the 
courts.  But  now  slavery  is  abolished.  Its  reign 
was  long,  dark,  and  bloody.     Liberty  now  is  the 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 69 

base  line  of  the  republic.  Liberty  has  supplanted 
slavery,  but  I  fear  it  has  not  supplanted  the  spirit 
or  power  of  slavery.  Where  slavery  was  strong, 
liberty  is  now  weak. 

"Oh,  for  a  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  as  true  to  the  claims  of  humanity, 
as  the  Supreme  Court  formerly  was  to  the  de- 
mands of  slavery !  When  that  day  comes,  as 
come  it  will,  a  Civil  Rights  Bill  will  not  be  de- 
clared unconstitutional  and  void,  in  utter  and 
flagrant  disregard  of  the  objects  and  intentions  of 
the  national  legislature  by  which  it  was  enacted, 
and  of  the  rights  plainly  secured  by  the  constitu- 
tion." 

In  Washington,  D.  C,  in  August  of  1885,  a 
large  audience  assembled  in  the  Nineteenth 
Street  Baptist  Church,  to  pay  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  General  U.  S.  Grant.  Hon. 
John  M.  Langston  presided.  Mr.  Douglass  was 
one  of  the  speakers  and  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to 
the  character  of  General  Grant.  In  his  beautiful 
peroration  he  concludes  with  the  remark  which 
doubtless  would  have  been  of  prophetic  import 
but  for  the  sudden  death  of  Mr.  Conkling  in  1888. 
Here  are  a  few  extracts  : — 

"  It  is  too  early  to  give  a  complete  analysis  of 
this  great  man's  character,  or  to  state  in  full  our 
debt  of  gratitude  to  him  for  his  work  in  the  world. 
But  this  may  be  said  of  him,  for  it  will  meet  no 


I/O  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

contradiction  from  any  quarter.  He  was  a  man 
too  great  to  be  envious  of  the  fame  of  others  ;  too 
just  to  detract  from  the  merits  of  the  most  bril- 
liant of  his  companions  in  arms  ;  too  enlightened 
to  be  influenced  by  popular  prejudice;  too  humane 
to  despise  the  humblest.  In  him  the  negro  found 
a  protector,  the  Indian  a  friend,  a  vanquished  foe 
a  brother,  an  imperiled  nation  a  savior. 

"  He  was  accessible  to  all  men,  whether  of 
high  or  low  condition.  He  did  not  hide  himself 
behind  his  dignity.  The  black  soldier  was  wel- 
come in  his  tent,  the  freedman  in  his  house.  To 
those  who  forbade  them,  he  simply  said,  '  Where 
I  am,  they  may  come ! ' 

"Among  all  the  American  people,  no  class  will 
feel  the  loss  of  his  death  more  deeply  than  we. 
No  people  will  hallow  his  name  and  cherish  his 
memory  more  sacredly  than  we.  To  others  he 
was  a  patriot ;  to  us  he  was  a  liberator.  To  oth- 
ers he  gave  peace ;  to  us  he  gave  liberty.  To 
others  he  saved  a  country  ;  to  us  he  gave  a  coun- 
try. He  found  us  slaves,  and  left  us  freemen. 
He  found  us  aliens,  and  left  us  citizens.  He 
found  us  outside  of  law  and  civilization,  and  made 
us  a  part  of  the  American  body  politic. 

"  The  statesman  and  orator  who  could  best  de- 
scribe, if  he  were  here,  the  character  and  services 
of  U.  S.  Grant  is  now  out  of  public  life,  traveling 
in  a  far  country.     Ye  gods  !  how  he  loved  him  ! 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  17I 

How  grandly  and  bravely  he  stood  by  the  fallen 
hero  in  every  hour  of  trial,  and  how  firmly  they 
believed  and  trusted  each  other.  Who  that  wit- 
nessed it  can  ever  forget  the  scene  in  the  national 
convention,  when  the  great  senator  from  New 
York,  in  matchless  eloquence,  presented  the  name 
of  the  hero  of  Appomattox.  The  one  was  on  the 
platform  of  debate,  what  the  other  was  on  the 
field  of  battle,  and  the  vast  audience  was  swayed 
to  and  fro  by  his  eloquence,  as  the  tall  forest  is 
swayed  by  the  storm.  The  final  funeral  oration 
upon  General  Grant,  the  one  which  is  to  do  full 
justice  to  his  memory,  the  one  that  is  to  thrill  the 
heart  of  the  nation,  and  is  to  be  read  away  down 
the  tide  of  time  by  after-coming  generations  of  the 
American  people,  must  be  delivered  from  the  cham- 
ber of  the  American  Senate  by  Roscoe  Conkling." 

The  following  passage  occurs  in  his  celebrated 
lecture  "  The  Mission  of  the  War,"  and  we  con- 
sider it  one  of  the  gems  of  the  English  lan- 
guage :— 

"Ah  !  there  was  a  time  in  our  national  histor)^ 
when  the  colored  man  was  not  the  despised  man 
he  has  since  become  in  the  eyes  of  the  American 
people !  When  rebel  armies  were  in  the  field 
threatening  the  republic  with  destruction,  when 
rebellion  was  assured,  bold,  defiant,  and  flushed 
with  victory;  when  the  country  was  rent  asunder 
at  the  center,  and  a  bloody  chasm  yawned  before 


172  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

it ;  when  the  crowned  heads  of  the  old  world  were 
saying  among  themselves,  aha  !  aha  !  the  great  re- 
publican bubble  is  about  to  burst  and  free  govern- 
ment to  vanish ;  when  the  loyal  armies  of  the 
Union  were  melting  away  like  the  snows  of  win- 
ter under  a  summer  sun;  when  every  morning 
saw  dead  soldiers,  at  ever}^  northern  railroad  sta- 
tion, and  stumps  of  men,  maimed,  mutilated,  arm- 
less, and  legless,  confronted  us  at  every  corner; 
when  churches,  halls,  and  houses  were  draped 
with  the  weeds  of  mourning ;  when  the  very  air 
w^as  heavy  with  sorrow  and  aged  eyes  swam  in 
young  tears  for  the  slain  ;  when  the  hearts  of 
strong  men  were  failing  them  for  fear  of  coming 
disaster;  when  the  recruiting  sergeants, with  drum 
and  fife,  with  banner  and  badge,  foot  sore  and 
weary,  were  marching  our  streets  from  morning 
till  night,  calling  for  men,  more  men  to  go  to  the 
front,  and  fill  up  the  gaps  made  by  rebel  powder 
and  pestilence  ;  when  the  fate  of  the  republic 
trembled  in  the  balance  and  the  star-spangled 
banner  drooped  at  its  staff  heavy  with  blood — 
Abraham  Lincoln  called,  aye,  the  country  in  its 
extremity  called,  upon  the  colored  man  to  reach 
out  his  iron  arm  and  clutch  with  steel  fingers  that 
faltering  flag,  and  he  came,  he  came  !  full  two 
hundred  thousand  strong,  and  from  that  hour  the 
power  of  rebellion  was  broken  and  the  tide  of 
battle  turned  in  favor  of  loyalty,  liberty,  and  union." 


CHAPTER   XL 

Extracts  from  his  Speeches  and  Lectures — 

Concluded. 

One  of  the  early  lectures  prepared  by  Mr. 
Douglass,  after  his  anti-slavery  lectures,  was 
"Self-made  Men."  It  was  delivered  in  many 
parts  of  the  country,  and  attracted  wide  atten- 
tion. The  following  extract  is  taken  from  this 
lecture : — 

"  By  self-made  men  I  mean  precisely  what  the 
phrase  imparts  to  the  popular  mind.  They  are 
the  men  who,  without  the  ordinary  helps  and 
favoring  circumstances  which  usually  distinguish 
and  promote  success,  have  risen,  in  one  way  or 
another,  and  attained  knowledge,  power,  position, 
and  fame  in  the  world.  They  are  the  men  who 
owe  very  little  to  birth,  relationships,  or  friendly 
surroundings.  They  have  neither  had  the  advan- 
tage of  wealth  inherited,  nor  early  training,  nor 
approved  means  of  education.  Like  the  over- 
taxed Hebrew  slaves  of  Egypt,  they  have  been 
required  to  make  bricks  without  straw.  They 
are  the  men  who  have  come  up,  not  only  without 
the  voluntary  aid  and  assistance  of  society,  but 
often  in  open,  direct,  and  derisive  defiance  of  all 
the   powers    and  efforts   of   society  to    obstruct. 


174  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

repress,  and  keep  them  down.  In  a  world  of 
schools,  colleges,  and  other  institutions  of 
learning,  they  have  been  compelled  to  obtain 
education  out  of  earth,  air,  and  sky.  In  a 
peculiar  sense  they  are  indebted  to  themselves 
for  themselves,  and  are  architects  of  their  own 
fortunes.  If  they  have  traveled  far,  they  have 
made  the  road  on  which  they  traveled.  If  they 
have  ascended  high,  they  have  built  their  own 
ladder.  They  are  the  men  who  come  from 
fathomless  social  depths,  and  have  burst  the 
social  strata  that  bound  them.  From  the  corn- 
field, the  plow,  and  the  work-bench,  from  the 
heartless  pavements  of  large  and  crowded  cities, 
barefooted,  hungry,  and  friendless,  out  of  the 
depths,  obscurity,  darkness,  and  destitution,  they 
have  come.  Flung  overboard  in  the  midnight 
storm,  on  a  perilous  ocean,  without  oars,  ropes, 
or  life-preservers,  they  have  bravely  buffeted  the 
frowning  billows  with  their  own  sinewy  arms,  and 
have  risen  in  safety,  where  other  men,  supplied 
with  the  best  appliances,  have  fainted,  despaired, 
and  gone  down.  Such  men  as  these,  whether 
we  find  them  in  one  position  or  another,  whether 
in  the  college  or  in  the  factory,  whether  pro- 
fessors or  plowmen,  whether  of  Anglo-Saxon  or 
Anglo-African  origin,  are  self-made  men,  and 
have  fairly  won  that  title,  and  what  honor  soever 
that  title  implies. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 75 

"Though  a  man  of  this  class  may  not  be 
worshiped  as  a  hero,  there  is  a  genuine  heroism 
in  the  struggle  he  has  made,  and  sublimity  and 
glory  in  the  triumph.  Every  such  example  of 
success  is  a  help  to  the  race.  It  is  an  assertion 
of  the  latent  powers  of  simple,  unaided  manhood, 
and  affords  encouragement  to  the  least  favored 
among  men.  It  robs  labor  of  pain.  It  dispels 
gloom  from  the  brow  of  destitution,  and  makes 
the  roughest  and  flintiest  hardships  in  the  stern 
battle  of  life  seem  trifles  light  as  air." 

After  showing  in  what  way  self-made  men 
attain  success,  he  takes  up  certain  criticisms  to 
which  men  of  this  class  are  exposed.  The  pas- 
sage here  introduced  from  the  same  lecture,  while 
it  shows  the  high  value  which  Mr.  Douglass 
places  upon  education  and  institutions  of  learning, 
furnishes  an  illustration  of  the  broad  and  liberal 
views  entertained  by  him  upon  all  great  ques- 
tions. 

This  is  the  passage  to  which  we  refer: — 

"  By  these  remarks,  however,  I  intend  no 
disparagement  of  educated  men,  or  of  educa- 
tional institutions.  In  all  my  admiration  of  self- 
made  men,  I  am  far  from  considering  them  the 
best-made  men. 

"  The  roundness,  fullness,  and  symmetry  which 
we  find  in  the  scholar  are  often  missing  in  the 
self-made    man.     He   is   strong,  but  apt   to   be 


176  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

one-sided.  The  hot  rays  of  the  sun  have  tanned 
him,  and  the  rugged  road  over  which  he  has 
traveled  has  marred  his  feet.  The  world  has  a 
value  for  skill  and  power,  and  for  polish  and 
beauty  as  well.  It  was  not  alone  the  hard  work 
and  good  sense  of  Horace  Greeley  and  Abraham 
Lincoln  that  made  them  successful,  but  the 
thoroughly  educated  men  whom  they  had  the 
wisdom  to  call  into  their  councils. 

"  So  far  from  disparaging  and  underrating  the 
importance  of  educational  institutions,  I  am 
bound  to  say  there  never  was  a  self-educated 
man  in  the  world  who,  with  the  same  exertion, 
would  not  have  been  better  educated  by  the  aid 
of  schools. 

"  I  admit  that  self-made  men  are  apt  to 
underrate  the  value  of  schools  and  colleges. 
It  is  a  natural  result  of  the  means  by  which 
they  have  obtained  knowledge.  Having  made 
their  way  without  such  help,  they  naturally  think 
that  others  can  as  well  do  the  same.  They 
forget  that  their  own  success  might  have  been 
vastly  greater  with  the  help  of  these  institutions 
than  without  them.  They  also  forget  that  most 
young  people  need  the  spur  to  exertion  which 
these  institutions  are  fitted  to  give. 

"  Another  criticism  upon  self-made  men  is 
the}^  are  not  over-modest.  Like  a  great  many 
others,   they   are  apt   to    think    more    highly    of 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 77 

themselves  than  they  ought  to  think.  Having 
fought  the  good  fight  and  gained  the  victory, 
they  credit  themselves  with  their  full  value,  and 
a  trifle  over.  They  know  how  to  use  the  first 
personal  pronoun,  and  do  use  it  profusely.  It 
cannot  be  said  of  them  that  they  fail  to  assert 
themselves,  or  to  claim  their  own  achievements. 
Of  this  sort  of  self-made  men  Andrew  Johnson 
was,  perhaps,  an  exaggerated  example. 

"  In  apology  for  this  weakness,  it  may  be  said 
that  a  man  indebted  to  himself  for  himself  cannot 
well  help  thinking  pretty  highly  of  himself. 
The  energies  employed,  the  obstacles  overcome, 
the  height  he  has  attained,  the  contrast  he  pre- 
sents to  other  men,  force  a  sense  of  his  own 
importance  and  make  him  egotistical." 

In  point  of  polish  and  finish,  the  lecture 
known  as  "  William  the  Silent,"  in  the  judgment 
of  many,  will  take  first  rank  among  the  writings 
of  Mr.  Douglass.  It  thrilled  and  captured  the 
audiences  that  heard  it.  The  beautiful  passage 
in  which  the  lecturer  draws  a  parallel  between 
William  of  Nassau  and  Abraham  Lincoln  is 
here  given: — 

"  William  the  Silent  stands  in  some  respects 
alone  in  history.  He  had  to  deal  with  a  condi- 
tion of  things  peculiar  to  his  own  age  and 
country. 

"  What  George  Washington  was  in  the  darkest 
12 


178  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

hours  of  American  independence,  what  Toussaint 
L'Ouverture  was  to  the  black  republic  of  Hayti, 
when  the  armies  of  Napoleon  encamped  about  it 
and  attempted  its  re-enslavement ;  what  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  was  to  this  country  when  James 
Buchanan  had  surrendered  it  to  rebels ;  what 
General  Grant  was  in  the  Wilderness,  '  Fighting  it 
out  on  that  line  if  it  took  all  summer,' — that  and 
more  was  William  the  Silent  to  his  country,  and 
to  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  the 
Netherlands. 

"  But  of  the  illustrious  men  thus  mentioned, 
the  one  who  most  resembled  our  hero,  you  will 
easily  see,  was  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  saying  this, 
I  say  much  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  for  the 
American  people,  for  he  embodied  more  of  the  best 
elements  of  the  American  character  and  states- 
manship than  any  of  his  long  line  of  predecessors. 

"  In  the  matter  of  his  social  position  and  train- 
ing, William  stands  in  striking  contrast  to  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  William  was  highborn,  a  prince 
of  the  blood,  surrounded  from  the  cradle  with 
the  best  conditions  that  great  wealth  and  high 
position  could  purchase.  Lincoln,  on  the  con- 
trary, sprang  from  the  lowest  round  of  the  social 
ladder,  with  nothing  but  his  simple  manhood  to 
support  him.  There  was  also  a  marked  differ- 
ence in  the  respective  mental  characteristics  of 
the    two    men.       William    was   pre-eminently    a 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.       1 79 

leader  of  thought  as  well  as  of  men.  In  this 
respect  he  was  ever  in  the  front  rank,  and  never 
in  the  rear  of  his  people.  He  was  to  them,  liter- 
ally, a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  and  a  pillar  of  cloud 
by  day ;  shielding  them  alike  from  darkness  and 
from  heat.  Abraham  Lincoln,  great  and  good 
as  he  was,  did  not  lead  the  thought  and  feeling 
of  his  country.  He  did  not  create  opportunities 
or  events,  but  he  was  wise  enough  to  accept  the 
advantages  of  both.  He  did  not  make  public 
sentiment  nor  did  he  repress  it,  but  he  adjusted 
and  timed  his  measures  to  its  demands.  And 
yet,  these  two  men,  so  strikingly  unlike  in  some 
important  particulars,  the  products  of  different 
ages  and  civilizations,  the  outgrowths  of  different 
social  conditions,  the  one  a  prince,  the  other  a 
plebeian,  the  one  a  child  of  wealth,  and  the  other 
a  child  of  poverty ;  the  one  trained  in  all  the 
learning  of  the  schools,  and  the  other  self-taught 
and  self-made,  were  stamped  by  nature  with  the 
same  lineaments  of  a  common  nobility,  and  ap- 
pointed to  a  common  mission  in  the  world. 

"  Both  men  were,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the  head 
of  fearfully  divided  peoples,  and  both  possessed, 
in  large  measure,  the  high  qualities  needed  to 
soften  asperities  and  heal  divisions  among  them. 

"  Both  men  had  foes  of  their  own  households, 
and  both  had  disguised  traitors  in  their  camps. 

"Both  William  and  Lincoln  were  devoting  them- 


l8o  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

selves,  heart  and  brain,  to  their  countries'  service, 
while  they  were  yet  in  the  midst  of  their  years, 
when  the  body  and  the  mind  are  both  at  their 
best.  Yet,  before  age  had  plucked  the  fire  from 
their  hearts  or  dimmed  the  light  in  their  eyes, 
the  heavy  cares  of  state  had  plowed  deep  furrows 
on  their  brows.  Similar  qualities  begat  for  each 
the  same  appellation.  The  countrymen  of  Will- 
iam soon  learned  to  call  him  '  Father  William,' 
and  those  of  Lincoln  learned  to  call  him  '  Father 
Abraham.'  The  people  believed  in  each,  and 
trusted  each,  as  children  believe  and  trust  in  their 
fathers.  W^hile  Abraham  Lincoln  lived  and  was 
seen  at  the  capital  of  the  nation,  the  loyal  people 
never  lost  hope.  Though  a  hundred  battles 
we  fought  and  lost,  Lincoln  never  doubted  of 
success,  and  the  people  shared  his  confidence. 
In  William,  also,  there  was  the  same  unwavering 
and  unfailing  trust.  In  another  respect  these 
men  resembled  each  other.  Both  were  remark- 
able for  an  extremely  cheerful  disposition,  and 
withal  for  a  capacity  for  the  most  serious  devo- 
tion to  whatever  business  they  might  have  in 
hand.  Both,  too,  were  often  berated  for  appar- 
ent levity.  But  in  character,  as  elsewhere,  ex- 
tremes meet,  and  in  this  there  is  no  contradiction. 
The  man  who  lausfhs  heartiest  is  the  man  who 
sorrows  deepest,  and  the  one  extreme  enables 
him  to  support  the  other. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK   DOUGLASS.  l8l 

"  While  moving  about  between  besieged  cities, 
starving  garrisons,  and  inquisitorial  fires,  bearing 
on  his  breast  a  responsibility  heavier  than  that 
of  any  other  man  in  his  country,  William  still 
found  moments  for  great  cheerfulness,  and  even 
merriment. 

"  Men  incapable  of  this  feeling  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, reproached  him  for  levity.  They 
did  not  know  that  the  farther  the  pendulum  of 
the  human  mind  swings  in  one  direction,  the 
farther  it  must  also  swing  in  the  other  direction. 

"  Great,  loving  hearts  were  in  the  breasts  of  both 
men.  Their  amiable  qualities  naturally  called 
out  and  strengthened  corresponding  qualities  in 
all  who  came  about  them.  Resembling  each 
other  so  closely  in  their  temper,  character,  and 
relation  to  their  times,  it  is  remarkable  that  these 
two  men  should  have  resembled  each  other  also 
in  the  manner  of  their  deaths.  Both  were  assas- 
sinated, the  one  by  popery,  the  other  by  slavery, 
and  both  manifested  the  same  spirit  of  charity. 

"  When  William  died,  as  he  did  die,  by  the 
hand  of  one  of  the  most  cold-blooded,  persistent, 
and  treacherous  assassins  ever  known  in  history, 
an  ungrateful  wretch,  who,  only  the  day  before, 
had  received  from  the  good  man  a  charity, — he 
died,  invoking  mercy  and  pardon  for  his  guilty 
murderer. 

"Could  our  own  Lincoln  have  spoken  after  the 


l82  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

assassin's  bullet  went  crashing  through  his  brain, 
it  would  have  been  entirely  like  him  to  have  im- 
plored mercy  for  his  merciless  murderer.  "  Mal- 
ice toward  none,  charity  toward  all,"  was  his 
motto  in  life  and  in  death. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  too,  that  William  the 
Silent  and  Abraham  Lincoln  were  alike  fortu- 
nate as  to  the  time  at  which  they  were  called 
away  from  the  stormy  scenes  of  life.  Both  saw 
the  mighty  works  of  their  great  lives  nearly  com- 
pleted, and  died  amid  the  glorious  triumphs  of 
their  respective  causes. 

William,  though  long  under  the  ban  of  pope 
and  king,  and  denounced  by  both  as  an  outlaw, 
though  long  pursued  by  assassins,  though  large 
rewards  had  been  offered  for  any  one  who  would 
murder  him,  though  five  different  attempts  had 
been  made  upon  his  life,  lived  to  see  his  coun- 
try free,  his  Spanish  enemies  worn  out  and 
broken  down,  the  sectarian  divisions  of  his 
country  healed,  the  armies  of  Spain  defeated  and 
driven  away  from  his  country,  its  proud  navies 
swept  from  the  sea,  and  the  pillars  of  the  Dutch 
Republic,  of  which  he  was  chief  builder,  firmly 
established. 

"  Men  now  make  pilgrimages  to  the  place  where 
William  fell,  and,  while  freedom  has  a  home  any- 
where on  American  soil,  grateful  pilgrims  will 
find  their  way  to  the  grave  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.       1 83 

^^ Great  hearted  men  both  !  Though  three  cen- 
turies stretch  away  like  an  ocean,  between  your 
space  in  Hfe  and  work,  ye  were  cast  in  the  same 
generous  mold,  ye  were  co-workers  in  the  same 
great  cause,  and  paid  the  same  extreme  penalty 
for  your  devotion,  and  together  shall  your  mem- 
ories be  cherished  forever." 

At  Baltimore,  in  1876,  Mr.  Douglass  for  the 
first  time  delivered  his  celebrated  lecture  on 
The  National  Capital.  Such  sentences  as  would 
cause  criticism  when  read  apart  from  the  lecture 
and  out  of  their  connection  were  telegraphed  to 
Washington  by  prejudiced  persons,  and  immedi- 
ately he  became  a  target  of  abuse  for  the  entire 
press  of  the  District.  When  the  lecture  was 
read  and  understood,  it  became  a  subject  of 
praise  rather  than  of  abuse.  The  humor  that 
runs  through  the  description  which  Mr.  Douglass 
gives  of  the  office-holding  and  office-seeking  classes 
will  be  appreciated  by  the  reader. 

The  passage  is  as  follows  : — 

"  But  I  would  do  injustice  in  the  matter  of  the 
population  of  Washington,  if  I  failed  to  say  a 
word  of  another  element  in  the  social  composi- 
tion of  the  capital,  in  no  degree  more  agreeable 
and  commendable  than  those  already  referred  to. 

"  They  are  the  spoilsmen  of  every  grade  and 
description.  They  are  the  office  holders,  office 
seekers,  contract  buyers,  pension  agents,  lobbyists, 


184  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

commissioners,  and  run-betweens  in  general. 
Men  are  here  with  all  sorts  of  schemes  and  enter- 
prises, some  with  claims  valid  and  just  and  some 
with  claims  neither  valid  nor  just.  Some  have  to 
secure  the  extension  of  a  patent  which  ought  to 
be  extended,  and  some  are  here  to  prevent  such 
extension.  Some  are  here  to  contest  the  seat  of 
a  sitting  member  and  some  are  here  to  assist  him. 

"  Some  are  here  to  use  their  influence  for 
friends  at  a  distance  who  are  too  modest  or  too 
timid  to  come  themselves,  some  are  here  with 
heads  full  of  brains,  pockets  full  of  money,  and 
faces  full  of  brass,  to  lobby  through  Congress 
a  great  patriotic  measure  with  millions  in  it,  and 
all  are  here  to  get  something  for  nothing  if  pos- 
sible. 

"  The  faces  and  movements  of  these  men  are 
a  study,  and  the  impression  they  make  is  far 
from  pleasant.  There  is  here  and  there  in  the 
crowd  a  face  of  genuine  manliness  and  joy,  but 
the  majority  of  them  are  wrinkled,  darkened,  and 
distorted  by  lines  that  tell  of  cunning,  mean- 
ness, and  servility.  They  are  restless,  eager,  and 
anxious. 

"  Nowhere  will  you  find  a  greater  show  of  insin- 
cere politeness.  The  very  air  is  vexed  with  clumsy 
compliments  and  obsequious  hat  lifting. 

''Everybody  wants  favor,  everybody  expects 
favor,  everybody  is  looking  for  favor,  everybody  is 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  185 

afraid  of  losing  favor,  hence  everybody  smiles, 
bows,  and  fawns  towards  everybody  else,  and  every- 
body knows  the  full  value  and  quality  of  this  general 
self-abasement.  You  will  seldom  hear  an  honest, 
square,  upright  and  downright  no,  in  all  this  eager 
and  hungry  crowd.  All  look  yes,  and  smile  yes, 
even  when  they  mean  anything  else  than  yes.  In 
their  large  and  well-worn  pocket-books,  many  of 
them  carry  about  with  them  carefully  folded  but 
considerably  soiled  papers,  written  in  a  solemn 
official  hand  earnestly  recommending  the  bearer 
for  any  office  or  thing  he  may  want,  or  he  may  be 
able  to  get,  for  when  the  former  is  impossible,  the 
latter  is  always  acceptable. 

"  It  is  easy  to  see  upon  slight  inspection  that 
some  of  these  papers  are  very  old  and  have  seen 
much  service  and  certify  to  character  which  may 
have  been  lost  a  dozen  times  since  they  were 
written,  and  thus  the  biggest  rogues  may  some- 
times have  the  best  papers. 

"The  national  capital  is  never  without  a  fair 
representation  of  these  hungry  spoilsmen,  but  the 
incoming  of  a  new  administration  is  the  signal  for 
the  gathering  in  force  of  this  remorseless  class. 
The  avenues  of  the  city  and  the  corridors  of  the 
capitol  and  other  public  buildings  are  the  literal 
whirlpools  of  social  driftwood  from  every  section 
of  the  republic. 

"Its  members  are  met  with  in  all  directions. 


1 86  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

They  are  crowding,  elbowing,  and  buttonholing 
everywhere. 

"  The  least  offensive  of  this  multitude  are  those 
who  come  here  to  obtain  clerkships  and  other 
positions  in  the  several  governmental  departments. 
There  is  nothing  in  this  service  proper,  to  degrade 
or  to  demoralize,  and  yet  I  cannot  recommend  any 
young  man  to  seek  this  mode  of  livelihood.  The 
process  of  getting  and  holding  these  offices  is 
often  both  degrading  and  demoralizing.  It  plays 
havoc  with  manly  independence  and  true  self- 
respect. 

"  They  are  usually  obtained  through  interven- 
tion of  members  of  Congress  and  other  influential 
persons  for  political  service  rendered  or  to  be  ren- 
dered, and  there  is  often  a  strong  temptation  to 
resort  to  improper  means  to  make  an  impression 
upon  those  whose  influence  is  sought  for  this 
purpose. 

"All  the  dishonesty  and  duplicity  in  office  seek- 
ing and  in  the  pressing  of  claims  are  not  on  the 
side  of  this  hungry  crowd.  The  men  who  serve 
them  or  profess  to  serve  them  are  not  always 
sound  or  what  they  seem. 

"A  member  of  Congress  has  been  known  to  give 
a  confiding  constituent  a  strong  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  a  position  in  one  of  the  government 
departments  and  then  by  another  street  outrun 
the  applicant  to  the  department  addressed,  to  say 


LIFE    OF   FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 87 

that  no  attention  must  be  paid  to  it  and  that  his 
name  was  only  signed  to  the  letter  for  buncombe. 
The  apology  for  this  duplicity  and  treachery  is  po- 
litical necessity.  He  cannot  afford  to  make  a  polit- 
ical enemy.  He  would  doubtless  very  gladly  give 
every  voter  in  his  district  an  office,  but  the  voters 
are  too  many  and  the  offices  too  few.  He  has 
two  cats  in  his  room  and  only  one  mouse  in  his 
closet.  Hence,  w^hile  he  freely  signs  your  papers 
he  says  to  the  heads  of  the  departments,  '  Pay  no 
attention  to  my  recommendations  unless  I  per- 
sonally accompany  the  applicant.' 

"  In  this  pre-eminently  deceitful  and  treacher- 
ous atmosphere,  promises  even  on  paper  do  not 
amount  to  much.  Everybody  is  fed  and  being  fed 
upon  great  expectations  and  golden  promises,  and 
since  the  diet  is  less  than  dog  cheap,  nobody  fails 
of  a  full  supply. 

"  If  you  want  any  office  and  want  help  to  get  it, 
everybody  will  cheerfully  promise  to  help  you. 
Your  member  of  Congress  will  do  what  he  can 
for  you.  Your  senator  will  do  what  he  can  for 
you.  Your  whole  delegation  will  do  what  they 
can  for  you.  The  heads  of  various  departments 
will  do  what  they  can  for  you,  and  even  the  pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  who  does  not  permit 
himself  generally  to  interfere  in  the  matter  of 
departmental  appointment,  will  do  what  he  can 
for  you. 


l88  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

"  The  amazing  thing,  however,  is  that  with  all 
this  gushing  and  abundant  promise  of  help  your 
name  is  not  on  the  pay  roll,  you  are  still  in  the 
cold  and  your  chances  of  getting  in  grow  beauti- 
fully less,  with  every  dinner  your  friends  will 
permit  you  to  take  at  Willard's,  Wormley's,  or 
Welker's. 

"  It  is  commonly  thought  to  be  a  nice  and 
pleasant  thing  to  be  a  member  of  Congress,  but  I 
think  it  would  be  difficult  for  a  man  to  find  any 
position  more  abundant  in  vexation.  A  man  who 
Q^ets  himself  elected  to  Cono:ress  can  seldom  do 
so  without  drawing  after  him  to  Washington  a 
lively  swarm  of  political  creditors  who  want  their 
pay  in  the  shape  of  an  office  somewhere  in  the 
civil  service.  They  besiege  his  house  at  all  hours 
night  and  day,  break  his  bell  wires  before  break- 
fast, crowd  his  doorway,  if  he  is  in  he  cannot  get 
out  without  seeing  them  and  if  he  is  out  he  cannot 
get  in  without  seeing  them.  They  waylay  him 
as  he  goes  to  his  house  and  dog  him  to  the  very 
doors,  and  summon  him  to  the  cloak  room  or 
lobby  after  he  may  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  reached  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives. In  all  this  sort  of  vexation  and  trouble  he 
must  be  too  polite  or  too  prudent  to  express  the 
slightest  sense  of  annoyance.  If  he  would  be  a 
successful  politician  he  must  face  it  all  with  the 
blandness,  patience,  and  suavity  of  a  true  martyr." 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 89 

Mr.  Douglass  has  attended  all  the  national  con- 
ventions of  the  Republicans  since  the  nomination 
of  Lincoln  and  has  always  been  treated  by  the 
party  leaders  with  marks  of  great  respect  and 
honor.  At  the  convention  held  in  Minneapolis 
in  1892  he  occupied  a  prominent  seat  on  the  plat- 
form in  rear  of  the  president,  Hon.  William  Mc- 
Kinley,  Jr.,  of  Ohio.  In  1888  at  the  convention 
held  at  Chicago,  being  loudly  and  repeatedly  called 
for,  he  made  a  short  address  which  was  heartily 
applauded  by  the  entire  audience.  Mr.  Douglass 
at  this  time  was  in  favor  of  the  nomination  of 
Hon.  John  Sherman,  whom  he  regarded  as  the 
leading  American  statesman  and  a  true  friend  of 
the  colored  race. 

Standing  before  that  immense  audience  he 
said : — 

"  Mr.  President :  I  had  the  misfortune  last  night, 
while  speaking  to  a  vast  audience  in  the  Armory, 
to  break  my  voice  so  that  I  feel  wholly  unable  to 
address  you  any  more  than  to  express  my  thanks 
to  you  for  the  cordial  welcome,  the  earnest  call,  you 
have  given  me  to  this  platform.  I  have  only  one 
word  to  say  and  it  is  this,  that  I  hope  this  conven- 
tion will  make  such  a  record  in  its  proceedings  as  to 
put  it  entirely  out  of  the  power  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Democratic  party  and  the  leaders  of  the  Mug- 
wump party  (laughter)  to  say  that  they  see  no 
difference  between  the  Republican  party  and  the 


190  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Democratic  party  in  respect  to  the  class  I  repre- 
sent. (Applause.)  I  have  great  respect  for  a  cer- 
tain quality  I  have  seen  distinguished  in  the 
Democratic  party.  It  is  its  fidelity  to  its  friends 
(laughter) ;  its  faithfulness  to  those  whom  it  has 
acknowledged  as  its  masters  for  the  last  forty 
years.  (Laughter  and  applause.)  They  were  faith- 
ful— I  mean  the  Democrats  were  faithful — to  the 
slaveholding  class  during  the  existence  of  slavery. 
They  were  faithful  before  the  war ;  they  were  faith- 
ful during  the  war.  They  gave  them  all  the  encour- 
agement they  possibly  could  without  drawing  their 
own  necks  into  the  halter.  (Laughter  and  ap- 
plause.) They  were  faithful  during  the  period  of 
reconstruction.  They  have  been  faithful  ever 
since.  They  are  faithful  to-day  to  the  '  solid  South.' 
I  believe  that  the  Republican  party  will  prove  itself 
equally  faithful  to  its  friends  (cries  of  'Good,  good') 
and  those  friends  during  the  war  were  men  with 
black  faces.  (Cries  of  '  That's  right ! ')  They  were 
eyes  to  your  blind,  they  were  shelter  to  your 
shelterless  sons  when  they  escaped  from  the  line 
of  the  rebels.  They  are  faithful  to-day,  and  when 
this  great  republic  was  at  its  extremest  need,  when 
its  fate  seemed  to  tremble  in  the  balance,  and  the 
crowned  heads  and  the  enemies  of  republican  in- 
stitutions were  saying  in  Europe  :  'Aha,  aha,  this 
great  republican  bubble  is  about  to  burst ;'  when 
your  armies  were  melting  away  before  the  fire  and 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  I9I 

pestilence  of  rebellion,  you  called  upon  your 
friends,  your  black  friends  ;  when  your  star  span- 
gled banner,  now  glorious,  was  trailed  in  the  dust, 
heavy  with  patriot  blood,  you  called  upon  the  negro 
— yes,  Abraham  Lincoln  called  upon  the  negro 
(great  applause)  to  reach  forth  his  iron  arm  and 
clutch  with  his  steel  fingers  your  faltering  banner ; 
and  they  came,  they  came  200,000  strong.  (Loud 
cheers.)  Let  us  remember  those  black  men  in 
the  platform  that  you  are  about  to  promulgate, 
and  let  us  remember  that  these  black  men  are 
stripped  of  their  constitutional  right  to  vote. 
(Cheers.)  Leave  these  men  no  longer  to  wade  to 
the  ballot-box  through  blood,  but  extend  over 
them  the  arm  of  this  republic  and  make  their 
pathway  to  the  ballot-box  as  straight  and  as 
smooth  and  as  safe  as  any  other  citizen's.  (Cheers.) 
Be  not  deterred  from  duty  by  the  cry  of  '  bloody 
shirt.'  (Cheers.)  Let  that  shirt  be  waved  as  long 
as  blood  shall  be  found  upon  it.  (Cheers.)  A 
government  that  can  give  liberty  in  its  constitu- 
tion ought  to  have  power  to  protect  liberty  in  its 
administration.  (Cheers.)  I  will  not  take  up  your 
time.  I  have  gotten  my  thoughts  before  you.  I 
speak  in  behalf  of  the  millions  who  are  disfran- 
chised to  day.  (Cheers  and  cries  of  '  Go  on,' 
'  Douglass,  Douglass  ! ')" 

In  Chicago  January   i,  1893,  on  the  dedication 
of  the  pavilion  devoted  to  the  exhibits  from  the 


192  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Republic  of  Hayti,  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass,  one 
of  the  commissioners  for  the  Haytian  government, 
made  an  address  which  the  reader  will  find  inter- 
esting and  instructive.  He  takes  the  opportun- 
ity here  afforded  to  praise  the  courage  and  bravery 
of  the  Haytians  in  their  struggle  for  independence 
and  to  pay  in  glowing  language  a  graceful  tribute 
to  the  great  Toussaint  in  contrasting  him  with 
Napoleon  Bonaparte. 

"  In  taking  possession  of  and  dedicating  this 
pavilion  to  the  important  purposes  for  which  it 
has  been  erected,  Charles  A.  Preston  and  my- 
self, commissioners  appointed  by  the  government 
of  Hayti  to  represent  that  government  in  all  that 
pertains  to  such  a  mission,  wish  to  express  our 
satisfaction  with  the  work  thus  far  completed.  His 
Excellency,  General  Hyppolite,  has  been  the  su- 
preme motive  power  and  the  mainspring  by  which 
this  pavilion  has  found  a  place  in  these  magnifi- 
cent grounds.  The  moment  when  his  attention 
w^as  called  to  the  importance  of  having  his  country 
well  represented  in  this  Exposition,  he  compre- 
hended the  significance  of  the  measure,  and  has 
faithfully  and  with  all  diligence  endeavored  to 
forward  such  resources  as  were  necessary  to  at- 
tain this  grand  result.  For  ourselves  as  commis- 
sioners, under  whose  supervision  and  direction 
this  pavilion  has  been  built,  I  may  say  that  we 
feel  sure   that    Hayti   will    heartily  approve   our 


—■"^^^^^-*- 


From  Harper's  Weekly. 


Copyright,  1888,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


GENERAL    HYPPOLITE. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 93 

work,  and  that  no  citizen  of  that  country  who 
shall  visit  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  will 
feel  ashamed  of  its  appearance  or  will  fail  to  con- 
template it  with  satisfied  complacency.  Its  in- 
ternal appointments  are  consistent  with  its  exter- 
nal appearance.  They  bear  the  evidence  of 
proper  and  thoughtful  regard  for  the  taste,  com- 
fort, and  convenience  of  its  visitors,  as  well  as  for 
the  appropriate  display  of  the  productions  of  the 
rich,  tropical  country  which  shall  be  here  exhibited. 
Happy  in  these  respects,  it  is  equally  happy  in  an- 
other important  particular.  Its  location  and  sit- 
uation are  desirable.  It  is  not  a  candle  put  under 
a  bushel,  but  a  city  set  upon  a  hill.  For  this  we 
cannot  too  much  commend  or  be  too  grateful  for 
the  liberality  of  the  honorable  commissioners  and 
managers  of  these  grounds.  They  have  awarded 
us  ample  space  and  a  happy  location. 

"  Hayti  will  be  happy  to  meet  and  welcome  its 
friends  here.  While  the  gates  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  shall  be  open  and  shall 
welcome  the  world  to  this  enclosure,  the  doors  of 
this  pavilion  shall  also  be  open  and  will  give  a 
warm  welcome  to  all  who  shall  see  fit  to  honor  us 
with  their  presence.  Our  emblems  of  welcome 
will  be  neither  brandy  nor  wine.  No  intoxicants 
will  be  served  here,  but  we  shall  give  all  comers  a 
generous  taste  of  our  Haytian  coffee,  made  in  the 
best  manner  by  Haytian  hands.     They  shall  find 

13 


194  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

this  coffee  pleasant  in  flavor  and  delightful  in 
aroma.  Here,  as  in  the  sunny  clime  of  Hayti,  we 
shall  try  to  do  honor  to  that  country's  hospitality. 
"  We  meet  to-day  on  the  anniversary  of  the  in- 
dependence of  Hayti,  and  it  would  be  an  unpar- 
donable omission  not  to  remember  that  fact  with 
all  honor  at  this  time  and  in  this  place.  Consid- 
ering what  the  environments  of  Hayti  were  ninety 
years  ago ;  considering  the  peculiar  antecedents 
of  its  people,  both  at  home  and  in  Africa ;  consid- 
ering their  long  enforced  ignorance,  their  poverty 
and  weakness,  and  their  want  of  military  training ; 
considering  their  destitution  of  the  munitions  of 
war,  and  measuring  the  tremendous  moral  and 
material  forces  that  confronted  and  opposed  them, 
the  achievement  of  their  independence  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  and  one  of  the  most  wonder- 
ful events  in  the  history  of  this  eventful  country, 
and  I  may  almost  say  in  the  history  of  mankind. 
I  shall  make  no  elaborate  comparison  of  Hayti 
with  ourselves.  American  independence  was  a 
task  of  tremendous  proportions.  In  the  contem- 
plation of  it  the  boldest  held  their  breath  and 
many  brave  men  shrank  from  it  appalled.  But 
Herculean  as  was  this  task  and  dreadful  as  were 
the  hardships  and  sufferings  it  imposed,  it  was 
nothing  in  its  terribleness  when  compared  with 
the  appalling  nature  of  the  war  Hayti  dared  to 
wage  for  its  freedom  and  independence.     Its  sue- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  1 95 

cess  was  a  surprise  and  a  startling  astonishment 
to  the  world.  Our  war  of  the  revolution  had  a 
thousand  years  of  civilization  behind  it.  The 
men  who  led  it  were  descended  from  scholars, 
statesmen,  and  heroes.  Their  ancestry  were  the 
men  who  had  defied  the  powers  of  royalty  and 
wrested  from  an  armed  and  reluctant  king  the 
grandest  declaration  of  human  rights  ever  given 
to  the  world.  They  had  the  knowledge  and 
character  naturally  inherited  from  long  years  of 
personal  and  political  freedom.  They  belonged  to 
the  ruling  race  of  the  world  and  the  sympathy  of 
the  world  was  with  them.  But  far  different  was 
it  with  the  men  of  Hayti.  The  world  was  all 
against  them.  They  were  slaves  accustomed  to 
stand  and  tremble  in  the  presence  of  haughty 
masters.  Their  education  was  obedience  to  the 
will  of  others,  and  their  religion  was  patience  and 
resignation  to  the  rule  of  pride  and  cruelty.  As 
a  race  they  stood  before  the  world  as  the  most 
abject,  helpless,  and  degraded  of  mankind.  Yet 
from  these  men  of  the  negro  race  came  brave 
men  ;  men  who  loved  liberty  more  than  life,  wise 
men,  statesmen,  warriors,  patriots,  and  heroes ; 
men  whose  deeds  stamp  them  as  worthy  to  rank 
with  the  greatest  and  noblest  of  mankind  ;  men 
who  have  gained  their  freedom  and  independence 
against  odds  as  formidable  as  ever  confronted  a 
righteous  cause  or  its  advocates.     Aye,  and  they 


196  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

not  only  gained  their  liberty  and  independence, 
but  they  have  maintained  it.  They  have  never 
surrendered  what  they  thus  gained  to  any  power 
on  earth.  This  precious  inheritance  they  hold 
to-day,  and  I  venture  to  say  here  in  the  ear  of  all 
the  world,  not  in  a  spirit  of  defiance,  but  in  the 
confidence  of  the  integrity  of  Hayti's  people,  that 
they  never  will  surrender  their  inheritance. 

"  Much  has  been  said  of  the  savage  ferocity 
and  sanguinary  character  of  the  warfare  waged 
by  the  Haytians  against  their  masters  and  against 
the  invaders  sent  from  France  by  Bonaparte  with 
the  purpose  to  re-enslave  them,  but  impartial 
history  records  the  fact  that  every  act  of  blood 
and  torture  committed  by  the  Haytians  during 
that  war  was  more  than  duplicated  by  the  French. 
The  revolutionists  did  only  what  was  essential  to 
success  in  gaining  their  freedom  and  independ- 
ence, and  what  any  other  people  assailed  by  such 
an  enemy  for  such  a  purpose  would  have  done. 

"  They  met  deception  with  deception,  ambus- 
cade with  ambuscade,  arms  with  arms,  harassing 
warfare  with  harassing  warfare,  fire  with  fire,  blood 
with  blood,  and  they  never  would  have  gained  their 
freedom  and  independence  if  they  had  not  thus 
matched  the  French  at  all  extremes,  ends  and  op- 
posites. 

"  History  will  be  searched  in  vain  for  a  warrior 
rnore  humane,  more  free  from  the  spirit  of  revenge, 


Life  of  Frederick  douglass.  19^ 

hiore  disposed  to  protect  his  enemies,  and  less 
disposed  to  practice  retaliation  for  acts  of  cruelty 
than  was  Toussaint  L'Ouverture.  His  motto 
from  the  beginning  of  the  war  to  the  end  of  his 
participation  in  it  was  protection  to  the  white  col- 
onists and  no  retaliation  of  injuries.  No  man  in 
the  island  had  been  more  loyal  to  France,  to  the 
French  republic  and  to  Bonaparte  ;  but  when  he 
was  compelled  to  believe  by  overwhelming  evi- 
dence that  Bonaparte  was  fitting  out  a  large  fleet 
and  was  about  to  send  a  large  and  powerful  army 
to  Hayti  to  conquer  and  reduce  his  people  to 
slavery,  he,  like  a  true  patriot,  and  a  true  man, 
determined  to  defeat  this  infernal  intention  by 
preparing  for  effective  defense. 

"  The  world  will  never  cease  to  wonder  at  the 
failure  of  the  French  and  the  success  of  the  blacks. 
Never  did  there  appear  a  more  unequal  contest. 
The  greatest  military  captain  of  the  age,  backed 
by  the  most  warlike  nation  in  the  world,  had  set 
his  heart  upon  the  subjugation  of  the  despised 
sons  of  Hayti,  and  spared  no  pains,  and  hesitated 
to  employ  no  means,  however  revolting,  to  com- 
pass his  purpose.  Though  he  availed  himself  of 
bloodhounds  from  Cuba  to  hunt  down  and  devour 
women  and  children  ;  though  he  practiced  fraud, 
duplicity,  and  murder ;  though  he  scorned  to 
observe  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare ;  though  he 
sent  against  poor  Hayti  his  well-equipped  and 


198  Life  of  Frederick  Douglass. 

skillfully  commanded  army  of  50,000  men ;  though 
the  people  against  whom  this  army  came  were 
unskilled  in  the  arts  of  war ;  though  by  a  treachery 
the  most  dishonorable  and  revolting  the  invaders 
had  succeeded  in  capturing  and  sending  Tous- 
saint  in  chains  to  France  to  perish  in  an  icy  prison  ; 
though  his  swords  were  met  with  barrel  hoops  ; 
though  a  wasting  war  had  defaced  and  desolated 
the  country  for  a  dozen  years,  Hayti  was  still  free, 
its  spirit  was  unbroken,  and  its  brave  sons  were 
still  at  large  in  the  mountains  ready  to  continue 
the  war  if  need  be  for  a  century. 

"  When  Bonaparte  had  done  his  worst,  and  the 
bones  of  his  unfortunate  soldiers  whitened  upon 
a  soil  made  rich  by  patriotic  blood,  and  the  shat- 
tered remnants  of  his  army  were  glad  to  escape 
alive,  the  heroic  chiefs  of  Hayti,  in  the  year  1803, 
declared  its  independence,  and  it  has  made  good 
that  declaration  down  to  1893.  Hayti's  presence 
here  to-day  in  the  grounds  of  this  World's  Co- 
lumbian Exposition  at  the  end  of  the  400th 
anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  the  American  con- 
tinent is  a  re-afhrmation  of  its  existence  and 
independence  as  a  nation  and  of  its  place  among 
the  sisterhood  of  nations." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Members  of  the  Douglass  Family. 

As  has  been  stated  elsewhere  in  this  volume, 
Mr.  Douglass  married  soon  after  escaping  from 
slavery.  His  wife,  Anna  Murray,  came  originally 
from  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  and  lived 
for  seven  or  eight  years  in  Baltimore,  where  Mr. 
Douglass  first  met  her.  While  she  did  not  have 
the  advantages  of  education  in  her  girlhood  days, 
she  was  a  woman  of  strong  character,  with  much 
natural  intelligence.  As  a  housekeeper,  she  was 
a  model,  and  the  practical  side  of  her  nature 
made  her  a  fitting  helpmate  to  her  husband  in 
his  early  struggles  and  vicissitudes.  In  manner 
she  was  reserved,  while  he,  as  is  well  known,  is 
of  a  jocose  disposition. 

She  was  the  financier  of  the  family.  It  was  a 
settled  principle  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douglass  never 
to  incur  debts.  If  an  addition  was  to  be  made  to 
their  home,  or  if  they  had  under  consideration 
any  matter  requiring  the  expenditure  of  money, 
they  first  counted  the  cost,  and  then  made  sure 
that  the  means  were  in  hand  before  entering 
upon  their  plans. 

In  her  death,  which  occurred  in  Washington 
in    1 88 1,  husband  and   children  suffered  a  great 


200  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

loss  and  a  severe  trial,  for  she  was  a  good  mother 
and  a  faithful  wife. 

Annie,  the  youngest  child,  died  in  Rochester 
when  eleven  years  of  age.  John  Brown,  in  his 
visits  to  Mr.  Douglass'  house,  became  attached 
to  her,  and  she  grew  very  fond  of  him.  It  is 
thought  that  her  death  was  caused  by  the  shock 
which  she  received  on  hearing  of  his  execution 
at  Charlestown,  Virginia.  Annie  must  have 
been  a  lovable  child,  for  Mr.  Douglass  speaks  of 
her  as  the  "  light  and  life  of  my  house." 

Frederick  Douglass,  Jr.,  the  second  son,  was 
born  in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  March  3,  1842.  He 
with  the  other  children  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Rochester,  New  York.  At  an 
early  age  Frederick  with  his  brothers  Lewis  and 
Charles  aided  in  piloting  runaway  slaves  to 
Canada  throuo^h  the  undero-round  railroad.  Dur- 
ing  the  war  he  was  employed  as  recruiting  agent 
for  the  state  of  Massachusetts  and  was  engaged 
in  business  of  like  nature  in  Mississippi  and  sur- 
rounding states.  He  served  as  bailiff  of  the 
courts  in  the  District  of  Columbia  under  two 
marshals. 

In  the  year  187 1  he  married  Miss  Virginia  L. 
Hewlett,  daughter  of  Mr.  Hewlett  of  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  whose  son,  E.  M.  Hewlett,  Esq.,  is  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer  of  Washington.  Mr.  Douglass 
resembled  his  father  in  personal  appearance.     He 


Mrs.  R.  D.  SPRAGUE, 

Daughter  of  Frederick  Douglass 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  20 1 

was  a  man  of  ability,  courteous  in  demeanor,  and 
made  many  friends.  He  died  in  Washington, 
July,  1892,  the  death  of  his  wife  occurring  two 
years  before  this  time. 

Mrs.  Rosetta  Douglass  Sprague,  a  lady  of  cul- 
ture and  engaging  manners,  was  born  in  New 
Bedford,  Mass.,  June  24,  1839,  and  is  the  eldest 
child  and  only  living  daughter  of  Mr.  Douglass. 
At  six  years  of  age  she  went  to  Albany,  N.  Y., 
to  reside  with  Miss  Mott,  a  friend  of  the  family, 
where  she  remained  three  years.  On  returning 
home  to  her  parents,  who  had  now  taken  up  their 
residence  in  Rochester,  she  and  the  other  chil- 
dren were  placed  under  the  instruction  of  Miss 
Phebe  Thayer,  a  Quaker  lady  who  was  employed 
as  governess  in  the  family,  colored  children  at 
this  time  not  being  permitted  to  attend  the  public 
schools.  It  was  now  that  Mr.  Douglass  began  a 
fight  for  the  admission  of  his  children  into  the 
city  schools,  and  in  1850  the  school  authorities 
yielded  to  his  demands.  The  admission  of  these 
children  was  not  only  the  opening  wedge  for  the 
admission  of  other  colored  children,  but  abol- 
ished for  all  time  the  separate  school  system  in 
Rochester. 

At  the  age  of  eleven  she  was  employed  by  her 
father  in  his  office  in  folding  papers  and  in  writ- 
ing wrappers.  As  she  advanced  in  age  and 
acquired    skill   and   experience,  she  became  his 


202  LIFE    OF   FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

amanuensis,  writing  editorials  and  lectures  at  his 
dictation.  For  a  time  she  studied  at  Oberlin, 
Ohio,  and  subsequently  taught  school  at  Salem, 
New  Jersey. 

Miss  Rosetta  was  married  to  Mr.  Nathan 
Sprague  in  Rochester,  December  24,  1863.  Mr. 
Sprague  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business, 
and  resides  with  his  family  in  a  beautiful  home 
at  Takoma  Park  in  the  suburbs  of  Washington. 

Lewis  H.  Douglass,  the  eldest  son,  was  born 
in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  October  9,  1840.  He 
was  eight  years  old  when  the  family  removed  to 
Rochester.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the 
schools  of  that  city.  He  rendered  valuable  assist- 
ance in  the  publication  of  the  newspaper  con- 
ducted by  his  father.  Enlisting  in  the  54th 
Massachusetts  Volunteer  Infantry  in  the  spring 
of  1863,  he  continued  with  that  regiment  till 
1864,  when  he  was  discharged  for  disability  in- 
curred in  the  line  of  duty.  He  held  the  impor- 
tant position  of  sergeant-major  of  his  regiment, 
being  appointed  to  that  rank  immediately  upon 
his  enlistment.  He  took  part  in  the  engagement 
on  James  Island,  July  10,  1863;  was  in  the  assault 
on  Fort  Wagner,  July  18,  1863,  and  in  the  six 
weeks'  siege  following  the  famous  storming  of 
that  fort,  under  which  his  health  broke  down,  mak- 
ing his  discharge  necessary. 

The    beautiful   words    used    by   the   poet   in 


LEWIS  H.  DOUGLASS. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  203 

describing  the  conduct  of  the  Black  Regiment  at 
Port  Hudson,  Louisiana,  June,  1863,  is  descrip- 
tive, as  well,  of  the  action  of  that  body  of  brave 
men  who  made  the  attack  upon  Wagner. 

" '  Freedom ! '  their  battle  cry — 
*  Freedom  !  or  leave  to  die  ! ' 
Ah  !  and  they  meant  the  word. 
Not  as  with  us  'tis  heard, 
Not  a  mere  party  shout ; 
They  gave  their  spirits  out ; 
Trusted  the  end  to  God 
And  on  the  gory  sod 
Rolled  in  triumphant  blood." 

In  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  October  7,  1869,  Mr.  Lewis 
H.  Douglass  was  married  to  Miss  Llelen  Amelia 
Loguen,  daughter  of  Bishop  J.  W.  Loguen  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church. 

For  two  years  by  appointment  of  President 
Grant,  Mr.  Douglass  was  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil of  the  legislature  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  for  two  years  he  was  a  special  agent  of  the 
post  office  department.  During  the  adminis- 
tration of  President  Hayes,  he  held  the  office  of 
assistant  marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia  for 
the  United  States.  For  several  years  he  has 
conducted  a  real  estate  office  at  934  F  street, 
Washington,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
successful  business  men  of  the  race  at  the  na- 
tional capital 

Charles  Remond  Douglass  was  born  in  Lynn, 


204  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Mass.,  October  21,  1844,  and  when  five  years  of 
age  entered  the  pubHc  schools  of  Rochester. 
Five  years  later  he  began  folding  and  delivering 
his  father's  papers  to  city  subscribers,  leaving 
school  one  day  in  each  week  for  that  purpose. 
The  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  found  him 
engaged  in  farming.  When  only  nineteen  years 
of  age,  February  9,  1S63,  he  enlisted  in  the  54th 
Massachusetts  Infantry,  being  the  first  negro  in 
the  state  of  New  York  to  enlist.  Having  served 
thirteen  months  in  Company  F  of  this  regiment, 
he  was  transferred  and  promoted  as  first  sergeant 
of  Company  I,  5th  Massachusetts  cavalry,  and  re- 
mained with  that  command  until  near  the  close 
of  the  war. 

He  was  married  at  Rochester,  September  21, 
1866,  and  in  April  of  the  following  year  was 
appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the  war  department. 
Up  to  this  time  there  had  been  only  one  other 
appointment  of  a  negro  to  a  clerkship  under  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  Assigned  to 
duty  with  General  O.  O.  Howard,  commissioner 
of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  he  served  as  confiden- 
tial clerk  to  the  commissioner  and  as  clerk  in  the 
education  division  of  the  bureau.  In  1869  he 
was  appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the  treasury  de- 
partment. .^Sometime  prior  to  this  he  received,  at 
the  hands  of  Mrs.  Lincoln,  the  cane  commonly 
used   by  President    Lincoln    in   his  daily  walks, 


CHARLES  R.  DOUGLASS. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  205 

with  instructions  to  convey  the  same  with  her 
compHments  to  his  father,  Frederick  Douglass, 
then  residing  in  Rochester.  In  1871,  having 
been  detailed  to  accompany  as  clerk  the  annex- 
ation commissioners  to  Santo  Domingo,  he  made 
with  them  the  tour  of  the  Island  of  Hayti  and 
Santo  Domingo.  Four  years  after  this  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Grant  United  States 
Consul  to  Pureto,  Santo  Domingo,  resigning  in 
1878  by  reason  of  the  last  illness  and  death  of 
his  wife.  Returning  to  America  he  settled  in 
Corona,  New  York,  where  he  was  for  a  time 
engaged  in  the  West  India  commission  business. 
December  30,  1880,  he  married  Miss  Laura  A. 
Haley  of  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  and  two  years  later 
was  appointed  an  examiner  in  the  Pension  Bureau, 
where  he  is  at  present  employed. 

Since  residing  in  Washington,  Mr.  Douglass 
has  held  several  important  commands  in  the 
District  National  Guard,  has  been  a  member  of 
the  staff  of  three  commanders-in-chief  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  is  at  present 
major,  commanding  the  Capital  City  Guard  Corps, 
an  independent  military  organization  of  Wash- 
ington. Before  the  consolidation  of  the  city 
and  county  schools,  from  1871  to  1874,  he  was 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  county  schools, 
filling  during  the  same  period  the  position  of 
school  trustee.       In  this  latter  position    he  was 


206  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

instrumental  in  securing  the  first  appointment  of 
colored  teachers  in  the  county  schools,  and  it 
was  largely  through  his  efforts  that  the  equaliza- 
tion in  the  pay  of  colored  teachers  and  the 
whites  was  accomplished. 

Frederick  Douglass  has  followed  with  loving 
solicitude  the  career  of  his  children,  and  has 
done  all  in  his  power  to  advance  their  interests 
and  promote  their  happiness.  Now  in  his  ad- 
vanced age  he  has  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
success  which  has  attended  them. 

In  the  winter  of  1884  Mr.  Douglass  married 
an  Anglo-Saxon  lady,  Miss  Helen  Pitts  of  west- 
ern New  York.  She  is  a  lady  of  refinement  and 
education,  and  possessed  of  pleasing  manners. 
Mr.  Douglass'  married  life  is  one  of  enjoyment 
and  happiness.  He  and  Mrs.  Douglass  fre- 
quently entertain  friends  from  the  city,  on  which 
occasions  she  presides  with  grace  and  dignity. 


P 

b 


< 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

His    Home.  —  Personal    Traits    and    Charac- 
teristics. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Douglass  is  at  Anacostia, 
about  three  miles  northeast  from  the  city  of 
Washington.  Its  situation  is  extremely  beautiful. 
His  house  stands  upon  an  elevation  called  Cedar 
Hill,  which  overlooks  the  Potomac  and  commands 
a  fine  view  of  the  city  and  surroundings.  The 
house  of  modest  pretensions,  commodious  withal, 
is  of  Southern  style  of  architecture,  and,  as  all 
such  houses  are,  was  constructed  with  a  view  to 
comfort  and  convenience.  You  enter  the  front 
hall  from  a  veranda  extending  the  entire  length 
of  the  house  in  front.  From  this  veranda  one  has 
a  view  of  the  sunsets,  which  in  this  latitude  are 
unparalleled  for  grandeur  and  beauty.  On  either 
side  of  the  hall  is  a  parlor,  and  back  of  the  east 
parlor  is  a  library  of  well-selected  books.  This 
latter  is  Mr.  Douglass'  workshop  where  he  pre- 
pares those  lectures  which  delight  and  thrill  so 
many  audiences.  Adjoining  the  front  hall  and 
west  parlor  is  his  dining  room,  where  from  time 
to  time  he  has  entertained  many  distinguished 
guests.  In  the  front  hall  hang  portraits  of 
Charles    Sumner    and    ex-Senator    Blanche    K. 


208  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Bruce.  There  are  also  two  portraits,  one  in 
either  parlor,  of  Mr.  Douglass.  The  first  repre- 
sents him  in  the  early  days  of  his  anti-slavery 
career,  the  other  in  more  mature  life.  In  the  west 
parlor  over  the  mantel  is  a  beautiful  picture  in 
water  colors  of  Othello  wooing  Desdemona.  This 
picture  Mr.  Douglass  values  very  highly.  On 
the  walls  of  the  library  hang  portraits  of  the  African 
Cinque,  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  John  Brown, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Hyppolite,  and  other  illustri- 
ous men.  The  same  simplicity  which  is  char- 
acteristic of  Mr.  Douglass  in  his  manner,  in  his 
dress,  in  his  conversation,  in  his  speeches,  may 
be  seen  in  the  appointments  of  his  house.  All 
the  rooms  are  tastefully  but  not  extravagantly 
furnished. 

That  portion  of  the  ground  not  reserved  for  an 
orchard  and  a  garden  is  beautifully  laid  off  in 
walks  and  drives.  In  the  rear  of  the  house  is  an 
extensive  level  tract  which  he  has  converted  into 
a  fine  croquet  ground.  Here  he  may  be  seen  any 
evening,  when  the  weather  permits,  playing  cro- 
quet with  his  wife  and  friends  from  the  city.  He 
is  extremely  fond  of  the  game,  and  is  usually  the 
victor  however  skillful  in  play  his  antagonist  may 
be. 

Mr.  Douglass  is  an  excellent  conversationalist. 
He  expresses  himself  with  correctness,  ease,  and 
elegance.     He  rivals  Mr.  Lincoln  in  telling  anec- 


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LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  2C9 

dotes.  His  stock  of  humor  is  an  unending  source 
of  entertainment.  When  he  has  laid  aside  the 
restraints  of  office  and  public  duty,  he  gives  him- 
self up  freely  to  the  pleasures  and  enjoyments  of 
home.  The  writer  remenibers  one  evening  when 
he  and  other  friends  spent  several  hours  in  social 
converse  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douglass.  Mr. 
Douglass  seemed  to  be  in  one  of  his  happiest 
moods.  The  presence  of  his  guests  called  forth 
many  reminiscences  of  his  past  life,  and  happy 
remarks  of  practical  wisdom.  Referring  to  the 
discouragements  which  young  men  encounter,  he 
said  that  a  man  cannot  ordinarily  expect  to  rise 
to  the  topmost  round  of  successful  achievement 
by  a  single  bound  without  taking  the  intermedi- 
ate steps.  He  observed  in  the  time  of  the  Cali- 
fornia fever  that  those  who  took  money  with  them 
brought  back  nothing ;  but  those  who  went  empty 
handed,  depending  on  diligence  and  economy, 
returned  in  possession  of  wealth.  Referring  to  his 
own  early  experience  he  said  that  in  the  first  few 
years  of  his  public  life,  having  then  a  wife 
and  four  children,  he  received  a  salary  of  only 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year,  but  man- 
aged to  lay  by  a  portion  of  this  for  future  use. 

Speaking  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  Review  pub- 
lished by  Dr.  Tanner,  of  Philadelphia,  which  he 
had  recently  read,  he  praised  it  in  glowing  terms, 
and  said  that  while  it  made  no  pretension  to  ex- 

14 


2IO  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

cellence  in  artistic  skill,  it  nevertheless  contained 
valuable  information  set  forth  in  well  written  arti- 
cles. As  the  first  literary  magazine  of  the  colored 
race,  it  is  most  creditable  and  we  have  reason  to 
be  proud  of  it.  Twenty  years  ago  a  like  produc- 
tion would  have  been  impossible.  He  said  he 
■was  engaged  in  reading  the  writings  and  speeches 
of  Rome's  ancient  senators  and  statesmen,  refer- 
ring to  his  book-strewn  table.  In  his  reading  he 
observed  one  thing  in  particular — the  profundity 
and  incisiveness  of  their  style.  Such  laconic 
brevity  is  scarcely  observable  in  the  utterances 
of  modern  statesmanship.  The  Roman  senator 
cracks  the  nut  and  gives  you  the  kernel.  We 
have  not  made  much  progress  in  these  matters 
since  that  time.  In  answer  to  the  suggestion  as  to 
the  desirableness  of  an  authentic  publication  of 
his  lectures  and  speeches,  he  said  it  was  his  hope 
at  some  time  to  arrange  them  for  publication, 
alonor  with  a  collection  of  his  letters.     He  wished 

o 

something  to  be  left  as  a  memorial  of  his  work, 
humble  though  it  was.  It  might,  in  some  way, 
help  to  weaken  the  force  of  the  criticism  some 
one  has  made  that,  "  If  the  negro  were  sunk 
in  the  depth  of  the  sea,  all  that  the  negro  has 
done  and  the  negro  himself  would  be  forgotten 
within  twenty  years." 

During  their  visit,   the  company  were  served 
with  tea,  Mrs.  Douglass  presiding.     The  members 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  2  I  I 

of  the  party  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  gen- 
erous hospitality  of  the  host,  and  realized  that 
they  were  in  the  presence  of  a  man  of  varied  ex- 
perience, having  a  mind  stored  with  useful  knowl- 
edge; and  the  success  of  Vvhose  life  illustrates 
the  difference  between  mere  knowledge  and  prac- 
tical wisdom.  On  the  departure  of  the  company 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douglass  followed  them  to  the  door, 
and  all  were  delighted  with  the  charming  beauty 
of  the  view  of  Washington  and  the  Potomac 
illumined  with  the  glory  of  the  setting  sun. 

He  is  fond  of  music  and  often  plays  the  violin 
accompanied  on  the  piano  by  Mrs.  Douglass.  It 
is  related  that  in  earlier  days  while  an  exile  in 
Scotland,  passing  along  the  street  in  a  despond- 
ent mood  he  saw  a  violin  hanging  out  at  a  store 
door,  and  going  in  bought  it.  He  then  went 
home,  shut  himself  up,  played  for  three  days  until 
he  was  in  tune  himself  and  again  went  out  into 
the  world — a  cheerful  man. 

Mr.  Douglass  is  of  a  bright  and  buoyant  dis- 
position at  home  as  well  as  in  public.  An  indica- 
tion of  his  vivacity  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  when 
confined  in  the  Easton  jail,  with  liability  of  being 
sold  to  New  Orleans,  he  unraveled  his  socks  and 
made  a  ball  with  which  he  played. 

He  is  a  man  of  temperate  habits  and  strict  in 
his  business  engagements:  In  Washington,  as 
elsewhere,  his  word  is  his  bond.     He  has   accu- 


212  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

mulated  a  competency,  the  result  of  industry  and 
economy.  He  has  made  it  a  principle  of  his  life 
to  save  something  out  of  his  earnings,  small 
thoueh  those  earnino-s  be.  With  all  his  habits  of 
economy  he  has  been  a  generous  man,  giving 
freely  to  every  worthy  cause.  Numerous  instances 
could  be  mentioned  which  would  show  how  Mr. 
Douglass'  purse  has  always  been  open  to  relieve 
misery  and  distress.  He  is  often  sought  by  per- 
sons, some  seeking  pecuniary  aid  and  others  em- 
ployment. He  seems  always  to  have  a  due  regard 
for  the  feelings  and  rights  of  others,  even  in  the 
smallest  matters.  It  is  natural  for  him  to  be 
polite  ;  it  is  not  that  artificial  politeness  which 
comes  from  studying  books  of  etiquette,  but  it 
springs  from  his  soul. 

He  is  frank  and  fearless  in  expressing  his  views 
even  though  they  bring  him  into  sharp  antago- 
nism with  those  who  hold  different  opinions. 
This  was  evidenced  by  his  antagonizing  his  life- 
long friends,  the  Garrisonians,  upon  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  constitution,  they  holding  that  the 
constitution  v/as  pro-slavery  in  character  and  he 
that  it  was  anti-slavery.  Vials  of  wrath,  so  to 
speak,  were  poured  out  upon  his  head  by  the 
Garrisonian  abolitionists  when  he  proclaimed  his 
views  to  the  country,  but  Mr.  Douglass  was  not 
driven  from  his  position  on  that  question.  A 
man  of  ordinary  courage  would  have  been  utterly 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.        213 

overwhelmed  by  the  great  force  of  the  opposition. 
Through  a  long  and  eventful  life,  he  has  never 
been  known  to  deny  his  principles  through  fear 
or  timidity  or  for  the  sake  of  temporary  advan- 
tage. No  one  is  ever  long  in  doubt  on  which  side 
of  any  important  question  he  stands.  Having 
satisfied  himself  which  side  is  the  right  side,  his 
course  is  neither  vacillating  nor  uncertain. 

He  is  a  man  of  great  force  of  will,  and  is  very 
much  like  Mr.  Garrison  in  this  respect,  w^ho,  it 
will  be  remembered,  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Liberator,  when  he  first  began  to  publish  it,  these 
words,  "I  am  in  earnest,  I  will  not  equivocate,  I 
will  not  excuse,  I  will  not  retreat  a  single  inch — - 
I  will  be  heard."  The  success  of  the  anti-slavery 
cause  required  that  men  of  such  force  of  charac- 
ter and  determination  should  be  its  champions. 
Without  them  there  could  have  been  no  success. 

Mr.  Douglass  is  one  of  the  best  examples  the 
country  affords  of  what  a  man  of  character  and 
ability  may  become  by  energy  and  industry. 
Franklin,  Henry  Clay,  Webster,  Lincoln,  Wilson, 
Garfield,  and  Grant  are  given  as  illustrations  of 
the  developing  influences  of  our  country.  These 
men  all  rose  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  high 
places  in  the  government,  but  Mr.  Douglass 
sprang  from  depths  which  these  men  never  knew 
in  their  experience.  With  them  it  w^as  possible 
to  obtain  the  highest  honor  in  the  gift  of    the 


2  14  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

people,  and  three  of  the  men  nr.med  did  reach 
that  exalted  position.  How  different  it  was  with 
Mr.  Douglass,  the  slave,  the  fugitive,  the  exile. 
Twice  was  he  compelled  to  flee  his  native  land 
and  seek  shelter  and  safety  under  the  flag  of  a 
foreign  power.  Not  till  the  war  ended  was  his 
freedom  actually  made  secure.  Even  at  this 
late  day  color  stands  as  a  bar  against  social  recog- 
nition and  political  preferment  in  this  country. 
If  Mr.  Douglass  had  enjoyed  the  same  advan- 
tages enjoyed  by  his  white  contem.poraries,  and  if 
the  spaiie  opportunities  for  advancement  had  been 
open  to  him,  what  public  position  in  this  country 
might  he  not  have  filled,  not  even  excluding  the 
presidency  ?  Had  he  like  Clay  and  Webster 
been  brought  up  in  the  profession  of  the  law  and 
afterwards  transferred  to  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, he  would  have  become  the  peer  of  any  in  that 
body  ;  for  he  has  powers  of  mind  which  eminently 
fit  him  to  grapple  with  the  great  questions  that 
engage  the  attention  of  statesmen. 

His  influence  on  the  colored  race  has  been 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  man.  He  is  en- 
deared to  them  on  account  of  his  early  struggles. 
They  point  w4th  pride  to  his  achievements  and 
success ;  they  reverence  him  because  of  his  ster- 
ling qualities  and  spotless  character.  They  rec- 
ognize him  as  their  most  prominent  leader,  whose 
opinion  they  have  always  respected  and    whose 


Frederick  Douglass. 
As  a  young  man. 


Robert    Gol ld   Shaw. 

Who  ooiumanded  the  regiment   in   which 
Douglass'  two  sons  fought. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  215 

advice  they  have  in  most  cases  followed.  But  his 
influence  is  not  limited  to  the  colored  race.  He 
will  always  be  an  inspiration  to  struggling  youth 
who  are  ambitious  to  win  distinction,  and  he  wiU 
always  be  regarded  as  a  model  of  true  eloquence. 
History,  because  of  his  excellence  and  achieve- 
ments, will  accord  him  a  place  in  the  galaxy  of 
worthies  whose  fame  is  confined  to  no  particular 
race  or  country.     His  is 

"  One  of  the  few,  the  immortal  names, 
That  were  not  born  to  die." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Death     of     Frederick     Douglass. — Funeral 
Services  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Frederick  Douglass  died  suddenly  of  heart 
failure  at  his  home,  Cedar  Hill,  Anacostia,  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  February  20,  1895,  at  seven 
o'clock  p.  M.,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 
Until  stricken  he  was  to  all  outward  appearances 
in  his  usual  good  health  and  spirits.  Death  came 
unexpectedly,  giving  no  warning  of  its  approach. 

In  the  morning  of  the  20th,  Mr.  Douglass 
came,  with  his  wife,  to  the  city,  she  going  to  the 
Congressional  Library  and  he  to  attend  the 
Women's  Council,  which  was  then  in  session  at 
Metzerott  Hall.  Mr.  Douglass,  as  a  member  of 
the  National  Woman's  Suffrage  Association,  was 
naturally  interested  in  the  proceedings  of  all 
gatherings  of  representative  women ;  hence  his 
presence  at  Metzerott  Hall.  He  was  on  this 
occasion  specially  honored  by  an  invitation  to 
remain  through  the  secret  business  session  of  the 
Council,  from  which  all  persons  except  members 
were  excluded.  As  he  entered  the  hall  the  Pres- 
ident, Mrs.  Mary  Wright  Sewall,  suspended 
business  and  designated  the  Rev.  Anna  H.  Shaw 
and  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  to  escort  him  to  the 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  217 

platform.  He  v/as  then  given  an  ovation  by  the 
audience,  each  member  rising  to  her  feet  and 
waving  her  handkerchief.  So  much  was  he 
interested  in  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting 
that  he  remained  through  the  morning  session 
and  at  four  o'clock  came  back  to  the  afternoon 
session  ;  upon  adjournment  of  which  he  returned 
to  his  home,  where  he  arrived  about  six  o'clock. 

At  the  dinner  table  the  family  engaged  in  con- 
versation upon  the  topics  which  had  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  Council.  After  dinner  the 
same  subject  was  continued  in  the  east  parlor. 
In  the  midst  of  the  conversation  Mr.  Douglass 
walked  out  into  the  center  hall,  when  he  suddenly 
fell  to  the  floor  without  uttering  a  word.  Mrs. 
Douglass,  coming  quickly  to  his  assistance,  saw 
at  once  that  he  was  seriously  ill.  Being  alone  in 
the  house,  she  ran  to  the  front  door  and  called  for 
help.  Several  men,  attracted  by  her  cries,  hurried 
to  her  assistance.  A  physician  was  immediately 
summoned.  In  a  few  minutes  Dr.  Stuart  Harri- 
son arrived  and  used  every  means  in  his  power  to 
revive  the  dying  man,  but  without  avail.  The 
heart  ceased  its  faint  motion  after  twenty  minutes 
from  the  beginning  of  the  attack,  and  apparently 
without  a  struggle  and  without  pain  the  great 
soul  of  Douglass  passed  to  its  final  reward. 

The  announcement  of  his  death  spread  rapidly 
throu2:h  Anacostia  and  Washing-ton  and  caused 


2l8  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

intense  excitement.  Every  one,  while  expressing 
words  of  regret  and  sorrow,  was  ready  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  high  character  and  w^orth  of  the 
illustrious  dead. 

Mrs.  Douglass,  speaking  to  a  reporter  the 
night  of  her  husband's  death,  said : — 

His  health  had  been  the  very  best  of  late, 
and  the  great  activity  with  which  he  preserved 
his  interest  in  the  events  of  the  day  had  never  per- 
mitted her  to  suppose  that  he  was  in  the  slightest 
decline  of  his  vigor.  He  has  never  been  troubled 
with  heart  disease,  and  such  an  end  was  far  from 
his  mind  or  any  of  those  about  him.  She  fully 
appreciated  his  public  work,  and  it  was  but  yes- 
terday that  he  was  talking  to  her  with  regard  to 
his  public  life.  She  had  expressed  her  belief  to 
him  that  he  was  still  called  upon  to  live  a  public 
life,  and  he  expressed  his  great  desire  to  do  so, 
and  felt  fullv  able  and  visforous  enous^h. 

As  a  further  evidence  of  his  apparent  vigor  of 
health,  he  had  made  an  engagement  to  speak 
that  same  evening  at  the  Campbell  A.  M.  E. 
Church  of  Hillsdale.  Mr.  Douglass  breathed 
his  last  just  as  the  carriage  arrived  which  was 
sent  to  convey  him  to  this  church. 

FUNERAL    SERVICES. 

The  public  funeral  services  of  Frederick 
Douglass  were  held  in  the  Metropolitan  A.  M.  E. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  219 

Church  at  two  o'clock  p.  m.  on  Monday,  February 
25.  Private  services  were  previously  conducted 
at  the  Douglass  home  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  T. 
Stevenson,  pastor  of  the  Anacostia  Baptist 
Church.  At  ten  o'clock  a.  m.  the  remains  were 
removed  to  the  Metropolitan  Church,  to  be  viewed 
by  the  public.  The  body  was  met  at  the  door  of 
the  church  by  the  trustees  of  the  church,  J.  W. 
Cromwell,  A.  P.  Goines,  John  A.  Simms,  William 
Beckett,  Jeremiah  Johnson,  Jamics  Ricks,  and 
William  Turley ;  a  guard  of  honor  furnished 
by  the  General  Russell  A,  Alger  Camp,  No. 
25,  Sons  of  Veterans,  Division  of  Maryland, 
in  the  fatigue  uniform  of  the  United  States  cav- 
alry, the  detail  in  charge  of  Captain  Judd 
Malvin,  Past  Captain  John  P.  Turner,  Lieutenant 
George  A.  Scott,  Chaplain  David  M.  Turner, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Hamilton  S.  Smith,  Sergeant 
Willis  Madden,  and  Sergeant  G.  H.  Woodson  of 
the  Tenth  United  States  cavalry.  Members  of 
the  guard  of  honor  were  detailed  to  stand  at  the 
head  and  foot  of  the  casket  as  it  rested  on  the 
dais  in  the  church.  The  beautiful  and  numerous 
floral  tributes  which  had  been  sent  by  friends, 
societies,  schools,  and  the  Haytien  government 
were  massed  in  front  of  the  pulpit. 

The  day  was  an  unusually  bright  and  pleasant 
one  for  the  season  of  the  year.  Not  a  cloud 
appeared  in  the  sky.    The  sun  shone  out  in  all  his 


2  20  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

brightness,  as  if  to  do  honor  to  the  dead  leader. 
The  closing  of  the  colored  public  schools,  of 
Howard  University,  of  places  of  business  con- 
ducted by  colored  men,  and  the  general  cessation 
of  daily  pursuits  gave  opportunity  to  the  people 
to  turn  out  en  masse  to  show  respect  to  the  great 
commoner. 

Long  before  the  hour  arrived  for  viewing  the 
body,  a  countless  multitude  had  gathered  around 
the  church  and  in  the  streets  leading  to  it.  At 
ten  o'clock  the  doors  of  the  church  were  opened 
and  the  public  began  to  view  the  remains.  The 
procession,  which  was  a  continuous  one  from  this 
time  on  till  the  doors  were  closed  at  1.30  p.  m., 
passed  in  at  the  east  door,  round  the  bier  and  out 
again  at  the  west  door.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  say  just  how  many  persons  passed  into  the 
church.  There  seemed  to  be  no  end  to  the  pro- 
cession, and  when  the  doors  closed  not  one-half 
of  the  waiting:  throno:  had  been  admitted.  The 
following  is  quoted  from  the  Washington  Star : 
"  When  the  doors  opened  at  ten  o'clock  there 
was  a  crowding  to  see  if  those  who  had  waited 
out  of  the  long  line,  reaching  down  Fifteenth 
street,  could  not  get  in,  but  the  police  insisted  on 
perfect  order,  and  the  procession  of  sad-faced 
people  poured  steadily  into  the  church  at  one 
door  and  out  at  the  other.  The  guards  con- 
stantly cautioned  those  who  lingered   past  the 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.       22  1 

instant  that  gave  a  fleeting  glance  at  the  face 
of  the  dead.  Some  would  have  stood  and  shed 
their  tears  upon  the  casket,  but  the  procession 
was  kept  moving,  and  no  time  was  given  for  the 
demonstration  of  grief.  It  was  a  wonderfully- 
impressive  throng  of  people.  There  were  white- 
haired  old  men,  who  had  known  Mr.  Douglass 
from  the  times  when  the  struggle  for  race  liberty 
began  in  this  country.  Fathers  and  mothers 
lifted  little  children  to  see  the  face  of  their 
champion.  Men  and  women  wept,  and  upon  all 
there  was  the  sober  look  of  genuine  sorrow  for 
the  death  of  a  benefactor.  Here  and  there  in 
the  long,  persistent  stream  of  humanity  came 
one  bearing  a  flower,  a  fern  leaf,  or  a  bouquet, 
which  was  silently  laid  upon  the  casket.  Thou- 
sands upon  thousands  thus  looked  for  the  last 
time  on  the  face  of  Frederick  Douglass,  greatest 
of  their  race  in  this  age." 

At  two  o'clock  the  pastor.  Rev.  J.  T.  Jenifer, 
D.D.,  reading  the  ritual,  entered  the  church  at 
the  head  of  the  funeral  procession.  Then  came 
Mrs.  Douglass  on  the  arm  of  Lewis  H.  Douglass, 
eldest  son  of  the  deceased,  the  other  children, 
with  their  families  and  immediate  friends ;  the 
honorary  pall-bearers,  Hon.  B.  K.  Bruce,  W.  H.  A. 
Wormley,  Hon.  John  R.  Lynch,  Hon.  John  F. 
Cook,  E.  C.  Messer,  Hon.  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback,  Dr. 
C.  B.  Purvis,  L.  C.  Bailey,  John  H.  Brooks,  J.  H. 


222  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Meriwether,  Dr.  John  R.  Francis,  F.  G.  Bar- 
badoes,  D.  L.  Pitcher,  B.  E.  Messer,  Hon,  George 
W.  Murray  and  Dr.  Robert  Reyburn ;  the 
Trustees  and  Facult}'  of  Howard  University; 
dele2:ation  from  the  Women's  Council.  Amono; 
the  distinguished  persons  in  the  procession  were 
Senators  John  Sherman,  George  F.  Hoar,  Justice 
John  M.  Harlan  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  and  Professor  \V.  S.  Scarborough  of  Wil- 
berforce  University. 

In  the  pulpit  sat  the  speakers  and  a  number  of 
persons  specially  invited. 

On  the  front  row  of  seats  sat  the  twelve  body- 
bearers  taken  from  the  ranks  of  the  colored 
letter  carriers  of  Washington,  in  full  uniform  : 
John  H.  George,  Richard  B.  Peters,  John  W. 
Curry,  W.  H.  Marshall,  W.  H.  Cowan,  H.  W. 
Hewlett,  Mercer  S.  Alexander,  John  D.  Butler, 
Raymond  Russell,  and  Dorsey  Seville. 

In  the  altar  sat  many  pastors  of  city  churches. 

There  were  present  delegations  from  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Norfolk,  Annap- 
olis and  other  cities. 

After  the  reserved  seats  in  the  body  of  the 
church,  to  the  number  of  five  hundred,  had  been 
filled  the  doors  were  opened  to  the  public. 
Within  a  very  few  minutes  every  seat  in  the  vast 
auditorium  was  occupied,  a  very  small  part  of 
the    great  multitude  outside  gaining  admission. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  223 

The  doors   were  then   closed  and   the  services 
began,  the  following  order  being  observed: — 

Hymn,  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,"  read  by  Dr.  J.   W. 
Beckett. 

Prayer,  Rev.  Alexander  Crummell,  D.D. 

Hymn,  "  In  thy  cleft,  O  Rock  of  Ages, 
Hide  Thou  me." 

Reading,  Psalm  xc,  by  Rev.  J.  W,   Hood,  D.D.,  Senior 
Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church. 

Singing  by  choir,  "Jesus  my  Saviour  to  Bethlehem  came. 
Seeking  for  me,"  etc. 

Sermon  by  the  pastor.  Rev.  J.  T.  Jenifer,  D.D. 

A  tribute  by  Rev.  H.  T.  Stevenson,  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  of   Anacostia. 

Tribute  by  Rev.  F.  J.  Grimke,  D.D.,  read  by  Prof.  George 
W.  Cook. 

Tribute    by   Dr.  J.    E.  Rankin,   President    of    Howard 
University. 

Remarks  and  song,  by  Mr.  John  Hutchinson. 

Remarks  by  Mr.  Haentjens,  Secretary  of  the  Haytien 
Legation. 

Remarks   by   Bishop     A.    W.   Wayman,    D.D.,    Senior 
Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church. 

Solo,  Mr.  M.  H.  Hodges  of  Boston. 

A  tribute  from  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,    read  by 
Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony. 

Remarks  by  Mrs.  Mary  Wright  Sewall. 

Remarks  by  Rev.  W.  B.  Derrick,  D.D. 

Reading  of  Communications,  by  Prof.  J.  W.  Cromwell. 

Benediction,  by  Bishop  R.  S.  Williams  of  the  C.  M.  E. 
Church  of  America. 


2  24  L^FE    ^F    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

THE    pastor's  tribute  TO    THE    LIFE  OF    FREDERICK 

DOUGLASS. 

An  able  and  eloquent  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  by  his  pastor,  Rev.  J.  T.  Jenifer,  D.D. 
He  said : — 

"  Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen 
this  day  in  Israel?"  —  II.  Sam.,  iii.  38. 

"  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying,  Write,  Blessed  are 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth  :  yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors ;  for  their  works 
follow  with  them."  —  Rev.  xiv.  13. 

Thursday  last  the  peoples  of  five  continents 
and  the  islands  read  with  regret  the  sad  intelli- 
gence :     "  Frederick  Douglass  is  dead." 

To-day  the  world  unites  in  sympathy  with  us 
who  sorrow  for  our  great  loss,  by  this  death. 
We  mourn  the  taking  away  of  him  who  was  our 
eminent  and  loved  leader,  and  most  illustrious 
example  of  our  possibilities  as  a  people,  Fred- 
erick Douglass,  a  representative,  ever  faithful  to 
his  people,  their  champion,  wise  counselor,  and 
fearless  defender.  Such  a  life  as  his  is  itself  an 
oration,  and  this  gathering  an  echo. 

No  man  can  give  the  people  Frederick  Doug- 
lass' funeral  discourse ;  he  has  delivered  that 
himself  by  his  life  and  labors.  He  is  in  fifty 
years  of  his  country's  eventful  history.  Seventy- 
eight  years  he  was  passing  through  the  most 
thrilling  epochs  of  his  people's  experiences  in 
their  land  of  conflicts  and  sufferings. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  225 

Our  text  tells  us  of  "  a  great  man  " that  had  fallen 
in  the  national  struggles  in  Israel.  All  parts  of 
history  are  tributaries  to  the  vast  whole,  as  rivers- 
that  go  into  the  ocean  help  to  make  a  whole. 

It  was  the  leading  spirits  am.ong  the  Egyptian, 
Assyrian,  Grecian,  Hebrew  and  Roman  peoples 
that  made  them  so  potent  factors  in  the  world's 
advance  in  civilization.  Each  of  these  peoples 
at  its  appointed  time  came  into  its  place  as  a 
part  of  this  vast  whole  of  history. 

The  Hebrews  have  been  large  tributaries  to 
the  tide  of  the  world's  advancement.  Moses, 
David,  Abner,  and  their  kind,  evidenced  their 
people's  possibilities  in  leadership. 

When  this  Republic  entered  as  a  tributary  to 
this  current  of  events,  George  Washington,  pre- 
eminent among  his  followers,  led  them. 

But  let  us  not  forget  that  the  courses  of  each 
and  all  of  the  tributaries  that  run  into  and  make 
the  vast  stream  of  human  history  are  guided  by 
the  Almighty  God,  whose  hidden  hand  directs 
the  main  current  in  its  onward  flow  to  the  better- 
ment and  broadest  happiness  of  mankind. 

Our  text  says  that  Abner  was  a  "  great  man." 
Men  show  themselves  to  be  great  as  they  evi- 
dence their  abilities  in  overcoming  difficulties  in 
the  achievements  that  benefit  mankind.  Where 
in  history  do  we  find  a  more  eminent  example  of 
this  than  Frederick  Douglass  ? 


226  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

What  an  inspiring  example  of  possibilities  the 
life  of  Frederick  Douglass  has  set  before  young 
men!  A  hungry  slave  boy  in  trousers,  tussling 
with  the  dog  "  Tip  "  for  a  crust  of  bread, — the 
signboards  are  made  his  alphabet.  From  this  he 
advances  to  the  devourer  of  the  contents  of  books; 
the  carrier  of  great  thoughts,  the  orator,  the  writer, 
lecturer,  editor,  author,  the  foreign  traveler;  the 
consort  and  counselor  with  great  men  and  great 
women.  He  is  the  United  States  Marshal  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  the  Recorder  of  Deeds,  the 
Foreign  Diplomat,  and  then  the  Haytien  Com- 
missioner at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

He  stands  second  to  none  in  courage  and  abili- 
ties, among  Garrison,  Sumner,  Phillips,  Ward, 
Payne,  Rock,  and  other  brave  and  pure  men  and 
women,  in  the  anti-slavery  conflict.  How  full  his 
life!  How  completely  rounded  out!  How  inter- 
w^oven  in  the  warp  and  woof  of  American  history! 

When  any  of  the  great  questions  involving  his 
country's  interest,  or  his  people's  w^elfare,  had 
been  spoken  upon  or  written  about,  then  what 
Douglass  had  to  say  was  eagerly  looked  for. 
Because  he  always  said  something  that  gave  an 
old  subject  a  new  setting,  and  threw  upon  a  trite 
question  a  new  light. 

His  comprehensive  scrutiny  and  logical  expres- 
sions in  brief  and  best  English  compelled  the 
discerning  mind,  though  prejudiced,  to  say,  "We 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  227 

never  saw  it  in  that  light  before."  Hence  in 
written  matter,  or  platform  oratory,  or  in  com- 
panionship, Frederick  Douglass  was  never  an 
occasional  man,  but  ever  guarded,  ever  apt  and 
ready;  never  disappointing  those  who  heard  him. 
Coming  into  his  presence,  his  simple,  unassuming 
manner  soon  impressed  you  with  the  greatness 
of  his  character. 

His  tenderness  of  heart,  love  of  little  children 
and  of  young  people,  his  high  regard  for  woman- 
hood, with  that  brave  sympathy  for  human 
sufferings  everywhere,  marked  the  trend  of  his 
great  soul.  "  He  regarded  man  as  man,  and  all 
men  as  brothers." 

How  befitting,  therefore,  was  it  for  such  a  man 
to  die  on  such  an  occasion,  discussing  with 
delight  such  a  subject! 

One  whose  life  was  devoted,  as  Mr.  Douglass' 
has  been,  in  conflict  for  manhood  freedom,  on  what 
occasion,  and  from  what  place  more  appropriate 
for  such  a  soul  to  take  its  flight  from  labor  to 
reward  than  from  an  assembly  of  women  of  the 
world,  who  are  striving  for  larger  liberty  and 
higher  development  of  their  sex  in  the  interest 
of  wife,  mother,  daughter,  sister,  and  home  ! 

FREDERICK    DOUGLASS'    RELIGIOUS    CONVICTIONS. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  about 
Mr.    Douglass'    religious     convictions,    and    of 


228  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Frederick  Douglass  as  a  churcnman.  What  I 
shall  say  briefly  upon  this  subject  will  be  what  I 
have  been  told  by  Mr.  Douglass  himself. 

I  first  met  Mr.  Douglass  at  the  home  of  my 
father,  in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  in  1862;  since 
which  time  I  have  -  known  him  well.  The 
Washington  Post,  Thursday,  February  21,  said: 
"  Freedom  to  Mr.  Douglass  meant  not  only  free- 
dom of  the  person.  He  believed  in  and  was  a 
brilliant  champion  for  the  vast  liberty  of  the 
soul."  But  let  no  young  man  or  person,  in 
skepticism  and  love  of  sin,  by  this  fact  be 
deceived  and  led  astray  from  light  and  from 
truth,  following  Mr.  Douglass'  example. 

Reflect  that  the  liberty  of  the  soul,  which  Mr. 
Douglass  sought,  was  not  license,  but  spiritual 
liberty  in  a  broader  sense  than  he  conceived  it  to 
be  in  the  American  Church.  Frederick  Douglass 
was  a  converted  man. 

I  heard  him  last  summer  tell  the  Methodist 
Conference  in  Georgetown,  to  which  he  was 
invited  by  Bishop  Hurst:  "I  remember  the 
time  when  I  bowed  at  the  altar  in  a  little 
Methodist  church  that  I  now  own,  on  Fell's 
Point,  Baltimore ;  then  and  there  I  caught  a 
stream  of  light  and  I  have  followed  that  light 
ever  since ! " 

Mr.  Douglass  broke  with  the  American  Church 
and  with  American    Christian   dogma   when  he 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  229 

saw  it  made  to  sanction  and  defend  the  enslave- 
jrnent  and  bondage  of  a  brother,  with  its  horrible 
consequences.  It  was  then  that  he  advanced 
beyond  his  country  and  its  church,  to  where 
Christ  to  him  was  larger  than  creed,  and  his 
Christianity  transcended  his  churchianity.  And 
?rom  this  point  Mr.  Douglass  never  retrograded ; 
but  he  never  ceased  to  reverence  the  God  of 
humanity  as  he  saw  God. 

In  this  terrific  soul  conflict  Mr.  Douglass  told 
me  that  for  a  timxC  he  blundered  into  bewilder- 
ment, but  God  sent  him  deliverance.  Last  fall, 
at  the  of^ce  of  his  son  Lewis,  he  explained  this 
conflict  to  me  in  a  conversation  on  religion. 
The  crisis  was  reached  when  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Bill  became  a  law.  The  National  Domain 
became  the  enslavers'  hunting  ground,  and  any 
citizen  liable  to  be  made  a  slave  catcher.  He 
was  then  editor  of  the  North  Star  at  Rochester, 
N.  Y. 

Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher^  coming  to  the 
city,  called  upon  Mr,  Douglass  and  inquired, 
"  Mr.  Douglass,  how  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  all  broken  up.  Done  with  your  church, 
your  Christianity,  and  your  hypocrisy.  You 
have  given  your  country  over  to  slavery  and  to 
slave  catchers,  and  your  church  sanctions  it  as 
authorized  by  the  Bible."  Mr.  Douglass  said: 
"  Mr.  Beecher  sat  down  upon  the  head  of  a  keg, 


230  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

taking  for  his  text,  '  Alleluia :  for  the  Lord  God 
omnipotent  reigneth '  (Rev.  xix.  6).  Upon  this, 
Mr,  Beecher  for  a  half -hour  went  into  history, 
into  science,  reason,  and  into  Scripture  truths, 
with  other  facts,  as  only  Mr.  Beecher  could. 
When  I  arose,  I  arose  a  changed  and  delivered 
man.  Now,"  said  Mr.  Douglass,  "  I  am  in  the 
trade  winds  of  the  Almighty." 

Mr.  Douglass  has  several  times  within  a  few 
months  expressed  to  me  the  joy  he  experienced 
in  God  and  in  spiritual  life.  He  was  a  constant 
worshiper  here  when  weather  and  health  per- 
mitted. He  always  called  this  his  church,  and 
took  a  deep  interest  in  its  welfare  and  in  the 
affairs  of  the  connection.  He,  several  times, 
after  listening  to  the  sermon  at  the  morning 
hour,  has  grasped  the  minister's  hand,  saying,  "  I 
have  been  greatly  instructed,  edified,  and  inspired 
this  morning."  Several  times  he  told  me  how 
his  soul  had  been  thrilled  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Beckett, 
when  singing :  — 

Jesus,  my  Saviour,  to  Bethlehem  came. 
Born  in  a  manger  to  sorrow  and  shame. 
O,  it  was  wonderful !     How  can  it  be  ? 
Seeking  for  me,  seeking  for  me. 

Death  has  ended  the  career  of  the  long,  useful 
life  of  this  great,  good,  and  unique  man.  We 
can't  say  of  him  as  of  Abner,  that  he  has  fallen, 
but  that  he  has  risen,  in  that  to  a  greater  extent, 


The  Douglass  Funeeal. — The  Funeral  Procession. 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.       23 1 

by  his  death,  his  true  merits  and  character  v/ill  be 
emulated.  The  hearts  of  the  people  will  be 
cemented  in  closer  bonds  of  sympathy  for  that, 
and  for  those  for  whom  he  so  ably  labored. 

Douglass,  the  success,  the  student,  worker, 
philanthropist,  patriot,  and  leader,  was  given  us 
by  God,  and  the  Lord  has  taken  him. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth :  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they 
may  rest  from  their  labors  ;  for  their  works  follow 
with  them." 

On  his  return  from  the  National  Council  of 
Women  last  Wednesday,  February  20,  the 
chariot  of  God  met  Mr.  Douglass  in  the  hallway 
of  his  home,  when,  without  a  struggle,  while  in 
the  presence  and  in  conversation  with  his  beloved 
wife,  the  two  alone,  the  spirit  passed  into  the 
better  land,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

He  leaves  a  wife,  two  sons,  a  daughter,  and 
grandchildren  to  mourn  his  loss.  He  leaves  a 
race  in  grief,  the  world  of  mankind  in  respect 
and  regret,  but  heaven  and  earth  will  unite  in 
saying,  "  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  serv- 
ant ;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

Father,  brother,  leader,  farewell !  Dear  family, 
wife,  sons,  daughter,  grandchildren  and  relations, 
we  commend  you  to  the  God  of  all  grace  in  this, 
your  deep  affliction.  Be  you  assured  that  you 
will  never  cease  to  have  the  deepest  sympathy 


232  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

and  the  profound  respect  of  a  grateful  humanity 
for  whom  your  great  head  gave  his  life  and  best 
efforts. 

Rev.  Hugh  T.  Stevenson,  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  of  Anacostia,  in  his  tribute  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Mr.  Douglass,  spoke  of  the  high  character 
and  transcendent  ability  of  the  deceased.  It 
was  his  firm  belief  that  when  prejudice  had  died 
away  the  future  historian  would  write  of  him  as 
the  greatest  man  of  his  time. 

Rev.  Francis  J.  Grimke,  who  could  not  be 
present  on  account  of  the  death  of  his  mother, 
in  a  letter,  which  was  read  by  Professor  George 
W.  Cook,  paid  a  loving  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
his  departed  friend. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Rankin,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President 
of  Howard  University,  in  paying  his  noble  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  the  honored  dead,  eloquently 
said:  — 

"  He  sent  a  man  before  them  ;  he  was  sold  for  a  servant ; 
his  feet  they  hurt  with  fetters ;  he  was  laid  in  chains  of  iron  : 
until  the  time  that  His  word  came  to  pass,  the  word  of  the 
Lord  tried  him." — Psalms  cv.  17-19. 

There  is  but  one  parallel  to  the  life  of  Freder- 
ick Douglass,  and  this  is  found  in  the  Bible ;  the 
Bible,  which  surpasses  all  other  literature. 
There  is  no  narrative  which  in  natural  pathos 
and  eloquence  so  reminds  me  of  the  history  of 
the    favorite    son    of    Jacob    as    the    story    of 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  233 

Frederick  Douglass,  And  I  find  God  in  one  as 
much  as  the  other.  And,  I  think,  of  all  the  men 
in  his  generation,  so  momentous  of  great  events, 
so  influential  upon  future  humanity,  no  man  is 
more  to  be  congratulated  —  could  human  con- 
gratulations reach  him  —  than  this  man  who 
now  sleeps  in  death's  marble  before  us.  God 
made  him  great ;  yes,  but  God  also  gave  him  a 
great  opportunity,  and  that  opportunity  began 
w^hen  he  was  born  a  slave. 

I  feel  the  pathos  of  it,  in  every  fiber  of  my 
being,  when  this  boy,  without  father,  without 
mother — save  as  once  or  twice  in  his  memory  she 
walked  twenty-four  miles,  between  sunset  and  sun- 
rise, to  give  her  son  a  few  clandestine  kisses, — yes, 
without  beginning  of  days,  for  Mr.  Douglass 
never  knew  the  day  of  his  birth,  was,  in  that 
prison-house  of  bondage,  slowly  emerging  to  con- 
sciousness of  himself  and  to  consciousness  of  his 
surroundings.  But  that  was  his  schooling  for 
years  to  come.  It  was  the  only  way  in  which  he 
could  become  a  swift  witness  against  the  great 
wrong  which  was  crushing  the  bodies  and  souls 
of  millions.  It  was  the  secrets  of  that  prison- 
house  of  despair  which  the  world  needed  to 
know.  And  God  had  given  him  the  tongue  of 
the  eloquent  to  tell  them.  Fascinating  as  is  the 
masterpiece  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  beautiful, 
and  touching  as  are  the  scenes  depicted,  dramatic 


2  34  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

as  is  the  movement,  powerful  as  are  the  dehnea- 
tions,  we  all  know  it  is  fiction.  It  is  founded  on 
fact.     But  this  narrative  is  fact. 

And  I  say  that  just  as  God  sent  Joseph  down 
into  Egypt  preparatory  to  great  events  which 
were  to  follow ;  to  save  much  people  alive;  just 
as  His  word  tried  him  in  the  house  of  Potiphar 
and  in  the  dungeons  of  Egypt,  so  it  was  with  the 
boy,  the  young  man  Douglass.  When  he  was 
praying  there  with  Uncle  Lawson,  God  was  gird- 
ing him  for  that  day  when  he  was  to  go  from 
town  to  town,  from  state  to  state,  a  flaming  her- 
ald of  righteousness  ;  to  cross  oceans,  to  gain 
admission  to  palaces,  lifting  up  the  great  clarion 
voice,  which  no  one  who  ever  heard  can  ever  for- 
get or  forget  its  burden.  So  that  I  say  Frederick 
Douglass  was  fortunate  in  the  misfortune  of  his 
birth.  If  he  had  not  been  born  of  a  slave  mother, 
one  potent  factor  in  the  great  work  put  upon  the 
men  and  women  of  his  generation  would  have 
been  wanting.  God  wanted  a  witness.  After 
Dante  wrote  his  "  Inferno  "  the  people  of  Flor- 
ence said  as  he  walked  their  streets, "  There  goes 
the  man  who  has  been  in  hell!"  What  the 
cause  of  freedom  wanted  was  a  man  who  had 
been  in  hell;  in  the  hell  of  human  slavery,  an 
eyewitness  of  the  dark  possibilities  and  expe- 
riences of  the  system  into  which  he  was  born ; 
who  had  felt  the  iron  enter  his  own  soul ;  who 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  235 

knew  what  It  was  to  be  compelled  to  yearn  in 
vain  for  mother-love  ;  to  fight  his  way,  inch  by 
inch,  into  the  simplest  rudiments  of  human 
speech,  of  human  knowledge,  into  any  of  the 
prerogatives  of  manhood. 

THE    BEGINNING    OF    THE    END. 

I  do  not  at  all  underrate  the  work  done  by 
those  magnificent  champions  of  freedom  v/ho 
took  this  young  man  at  twenty-five  into  the 
charmed  coterie  of  their  fearless  eloquence  ;  who 
gave  him  the  baptism  of  their  approval,  w^ho  laid 
their  hands  upon  his  head,  William  Lloyd  Garri- 
son, Wendell  Phillips,  and  their  associates.  But 
they  needed  him  as  much  as  he  needed  them. 
After  their  cool  and  eloquent  logic,  after  their 
studied  irony  and  invective,  which,  mighty  as  it 
was,  was  wanting  in  the  trem.olo  of  the  voice  of 
one  that  has  suffered,  of  one  whose  very  modula- 
tions signified  more  than  their  words  ;  when  this 
man  arose,  as  one  rises  from  the  dead,  as  the 
ghost  of  one,  the  crown  and  scepter  of  whose 
manhood  has  been  stolen  away,  while  he  goes 
from  land  to  land  proclaiming  the  wrong  and 
asking  for  justice,  then  the  climax  was  reached. 
This  man  made  the  work  of  such  men  as  Garri- 
son and  Phillips  and  Sumner,  and  even  Lincoln, 
possible.  I  do  not  wish  to  use  the  language  of 
exaggeration.     It  is  not  fitting  the  occasion.      It 


2^6  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 


sj 


is  not  in  keeping  with  the  dignified  manner  and 
methods  of  the  man  whom  we  commemorate,  or 
the  providential  miovement  of  which  he  was  so 
long  a  part.  But  I  believe  that  the  birth  of 
Frederick  Douglass  into  slavery  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end.  And  that  this  w^as  just  as 
needful  to  his  anti-slavery  associates  as  to  himself. 
God  planted  a  germ  there  w^hich  was  to  burst  the 
cruel  system  apart.  It  was  as  though  he  said, 
"  Go  to,  ye  wise  men  of  the  Great  Republic  ;  ye 
Websters  and  Clays,  miserable  physicians  are  ye 
all.  I  will  set  this  Samson  of  Freedom  in  j^our 
temple  of  Dagon,  and  his  tawny  arms  shall  yet 
tumble  its  columns  about  the  ears  of  the  worship- 
ers. I  will  put  the  ark  of  my  covenant  in  this 
man's  soul,  and  the  time  shall  come  when  your 
idol-god  shall  lie  toppled  over  upon  his  nose  in 
his  presence." 

I  think  that  Frederick  Douglass  is  to  be  con- 
Q^ratulated  on  the  kind  of  tuition  that  came  to 
him — no,  that  God  had  provided  for  him, 
through  these  anti-slavery  associates.  They 
were  regarded  as  the  offscouring  of  the  earth, 
and  yet  many  of  them  received  their  culture  in 
the  choicest  New  England  schools,  and  they 
sprang  from  the  noblest  New  England  stock. 
And  when  he  went  abroad  it  was  his  privilege  to 
hear  such  men  as  Cobden  and  Bright  and 
Disraeli   and   O'Connell  and  Lord  John  Russell 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  237 

and  Lord  Brougham.  These  men  Mr.  Douglass 
studied,  admired,  analyzed.  His  more  elaborate 
addresses,  too,  show  the  influence  of  the  first  and 
greatest  of  Nev/  Eneland  orators,  Daniel  Webster. 
But,  even  beyond  the  great  American  orator, 
whose  model  orations  are  in  all  our  school- 
books,  was  Mr.  Doutdass  in  fervor  and  fire.  Ah  I 
that  was  a  day,  when  that  runaway  slave  heard 
that  p-reat  statesman  at  Bunker  Hill.     And  he 

o 

once  told  me  that  he  owed  a  o;reat  debt  to  the 
poems  of  Whittier.  To  converse  with  Mr.  Doug- 
lass, to  hear  him  in  public,  one  who  knew  his 
humble  origin  and  limited  opportunities  might 
well  ask,  "  How  knoweth  this  man  letters  ? " 
But,  in  the  art  of  which  he  himself  had  such  a 
mastery,  he  had  the  best  teachers  and  examples 
the  Anglo-Saxon  schools  could  afford,  while  not 
one  of  the  great  men  mentioned  had  such  a 
theme  as  his.  How  carefully  he  improved  his 
intercourse  with  such  men,  his  observation  of 
them,  one  has  only  to  read  his  life  to  discover. 
Howard  University,  I  believe,  gave  this  man 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  and  there  were 
some  laws  that  no  m.an  knew  better  how  to 
doctor  than  he.  But  there  was  not  an  ofificial 
of  the  university  who  could  reach  high  enough 
to  put  a  wreath  on  his  brow.  It  had  to  be 
done  from  above,  by  the  winged  genius  of  the 
university. 


238       LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 
CONTRASTS  OF  HIS  LIFE. 

Then,  in  the  third  place,  Mr.  Douglass  is  to  be 
congratulated  on  the  wonderful  contrasts  and 
antitheses  of  his  life.  If  we  go  on  in  the  Psalm 
from  which  I  have  quoted  Vv^e  read :  "  The  king 
sent  and  loosed  him ;  even  the  ruler  of  the 
peoples,  and  let  him  go  free.  He  made  him  lord 
of  his  house,  and  ruler  of  all  his  substance:  to 
bind  his  princes  at  his  pleasure,  and  teach  his  sena- 
tors wisdom."  The  kino-  that  loosed  this  man  was 
the  King  of  kings  and  not  Pharaoh,  even  as  of 
old,  till  after  the  angel  of  war  had  smitten  the 
firstborn  of  the  land.  If  we  except  this  prime 
minister  of  Pharaoh,  perhaps  no  man  who  ever 
lived  ever  had  such  extremes  and  vicissitudes  of 
experience  as  Mr.  Douglass.  There  is  probably 
no  civilized  nation  on  earth  that  has  not  been 
made  acquainted  with  his  wonderful  story. 

Perhaps  he  never  saw  a  prouder  day  than 
when,  as  United  States  marshal — an  official  once 
so  offensive  to  the  sensibilities  of  a  free  people, 
because  of  his  participation  in  the  arrest  and 
return  of  fugitive  slaves — he  accompanied  Presi- 
dent-elect Garfield  from  the  Senate  chamber  to 
the  platform  of  the  portico,  w^here  he  took  the 
oath  of  office  and  delivered  the  inaugural  address. 
This  was  the  man  w^ho  ran  aw^ay  from  the  neigh- 
boring state  of  IMaryland,  whose  territory  was 
once  the  ground  on  which  the  Capitol   stands; 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  259 

who  had  twice  exiled  himself  from  his  native 
land  to  escape  arrest,  first  as  a  fugitive  sla,ve,  and 
then  as  in  complicity  with  the  John  Brown  con- 
spiracy; whose  friends  had  actually  paid  the  sum 
of  ^'150 — I  have  this  morning  read  the  bill  of 
sale  again — to  purchase  his  freedom  from  bond- 
age, and  who  now  acted  as  the  representative  of 
the  United  States  in  the  moment  of  transition 
from  the  term  of  one  President  to  that  of 
another. 

And  if  we  turn  from  his  public  to  his  private 
career,  what  more  striking  and  unusual  scene, 
save  perhaps  Joseph's  forgiveness  of  his  brethren, 
ever  was  introduced  into  the  lot  of  man  than  his 
visit  to  his  old  and  dying  master,  so  many  years 
after  his  escape  from  bondage  ?  Was  there  ever 
an  experience  more  pathetic  ?  Was  there  ever 
forgiveness  more  generous  ?  We  pray,  "  Forgive 
us  our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debtors."  This 
our  great  Teacher  has  taught  us.  The  spirit  of 
forgiveness  is  the  basis  on  which  we  stand  before 
God,  v/ho  has  so  much  to  forgive  in  us  ;  is  the 
spirit  which  fits  us  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

MR.  Douglass'  eloquence. 

I  come  now  to  the  last  ground  on  which  I 
think  Mr.  Douglass  should  be  congratulated.  By 
many  it  would  be  thought  of  first.  Mr.  Doug- 
lass v/as  fortuna.te  in  his  endowments  as  an  orator. 


240  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Eloquence  is  virtue.  This  the  Germans  have 
taught  us.  That  is,  there  must  be  virtuous  char- 
acter, genuine  truth  and  manliness  behind  all 
eloquent  speech.  A  crafty,  deceitful,  dishonest, 
dishonorable  man  cannot  be  an  eloquent  one. 
He  can  deceive  only  the  groundlings.  His 
eloquence  is  all  a  sham  and  mockery. 

Mr.  Douglass  had  a  commanding  figure,  a 
commanding  presence,  a  commanding  voice.  In 
all  these  there  is  leadership.  There  was  some- 
thing more  there.  When  he  rose  to  his  feet, 
when  an  audience  saw  that  dignified  and  serious 
but  kindly  face,  that  venerable  and  seer-like 
aspect,  when  they  heard  that  voice,  it  arrested 
attention  and  hushed  every  one  to  silence  and 
expectation.  Utterance  with  him  was  the  con- 
siderate and  judicious  gathering  of  great  forces; 
like  the  gathering  of  a  storm  in  the  sky ;  now 
and  then  a  distant  mutter,  then  the  marshaling 
of  the  winds  and  the  sweeping  of  the  clouds 
across  the  horizon ;  then  the  descending  thunder- 
bolt and  the  lightning  flash ;  then  the  rolling 
back  of  the  clouds  as  a  curtain,  the  return  of  the 
sunshine  and  the  song  of  birds  and  the  laughter 
of  children.  Mr.  Douglass'  voice  was  of  unequaled 
depth  and  volume  and  power.  And  back  of  all 
this  was  a  great-hearted,  generous,  forgiving- 
natured  soul,  who  feared  not  the  face  of  man  and 
believed  in  the  living  God. 


LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.       24 1 

Mr.  Douglass  never  lost  his  sense  of  the  pro- 
portion of  things ;  never  was  unduly  elated  by 
his  successes  and  achievements.  He  was  uncom- 
promising in  his  opinions  and  yet  a  patient 
waiter.  He  had  a  sagacious,  a  long  patience  for 
the  result.  When  a  great  man  is  gone,  for  the 
first  time  we  begin  to  see  the  space  he  filled,  as 
though  a  mountain  peak  had  been  removed  from 
our  moral  horizon.  It  will  take  a  long  time  to 
measure  the  conservative  and  yet  progressive 
influence  of  this  great  man  ;  for  he  was  great, 
and  great  in  the  period  of  great  men.  He  was 
greater  than  his  eloquent  speech  ;  he  was  greater 
than  his  life.  If  you  write  the  history  of  the 
anti-slavery  movement  he  was  great  there,  it 
centered  in  him  and  around  him  ;  of  the  civil 
war  and  the  reconstruction  period,  he  was  a  man 
to  whom  presidents  and  senators,  to  whom  mil- 
lions of  enfranchised  people  looked  for  counsel. 
He  taught  the  senators  wisdom.  Shakespeare 
makes  Mark  Antony  say  over  the  form  of  the 
dead  Csesar :  "  My  heart  is  in  the  coffin  there 
with  Caesar."  I  know  what  that  means  to-day. 
Mr.  Douglass  had  qualities  that  won  the  heart. 
No  young  man  could  know  him  without  having 
for  him  a  reverence  that  was  filial.  And  wise 
will  it  be  for  the  young  men,  whom  he  tenderly 
addressed  as  a  father,  if  they  heed  his  counsels, 
read  his  life,  study  his  example,  live  as  he  lived. 


242  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

DOUGLASS,    LINCOLN    AND    GRANT. 

Mr.  Douglass  was  a  consistent  man.  He  had 
no  erratic  moods  or  vagaries.  There  were  men, 
great  men,  who  drew  away  from  Abraham 
Lincohi  because,  carrying  upon  his  shoulders, 
like  Atlas,  this  great  American  world,  he  seemed 
to  move  so  slow.  They  were  lighter  loaded  and 
could  dance  and  cut  capers  along  such  a  rugged 
pathway.  But  not  Frederick  Douglass.  He 
saw  where  God  was  walking  on  that  field  and 
believed  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  walking  with  God. 
There  were  men,  great  men,  who  broke  with 
President  Grant.  But  not  Frederick  Douglass. 
He  believed  in  the  man  who  had  fought  the 
nation's  battles  through.  And  of  Santo  Domingo 
he  said:  "Since  liberty  and  equality  have 
become  the  law  of  the  land  I  am  for  extending 
our  dominion  whenever  and  wherever  such  exten- 
sion can  peaceably  and  honorably  be  accom- 
plished." A  wiser  saying  to-day  than  when  it 
was  uttered. 

If  anv  man   had  a  riorht  to  criticise  and  break 

J  o 

down,  if  he  could,  the  public  policy  of  our  great 
leaders  and  executives  on  the  subject  of  human 
freedom  it  was  ]\Ir.  Douglass.  But  he  had  not 
so  learned  the  duty  of  a  citizen,  nor  the  art  of 
statesmanship.  It  was  his  to  suggest  and  coun- 
sel and  then  patiently  wait.  Lord  Beaconsfield 
has  said,  "  Everything  comes,  if  a  man  will  only 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  243 

wait,"  and  Philip  II.,  "Time  and  I  against  any 
two,"  and  Mr.  Douglass  has  quoted,  if  he  did  not 
originate,  that  greater  proverb,  "  One  with  God 
is  always  a  majority."  In  that  majority  he  was 
contented.  For  he  knew  that  in  His  own  time 
God  would  show  himself,  moving  on  His  great 
affairs.  It  was  this  that  made  all  his  methods 
noble.  There  was  no  meanness  in  this  man. 
He  did  not  conspire  and  intrigue  and  backbite 
and  undermine.  He  was  no  such  mole  as  that. 
He  was  always  above  the  ground,  always  acting 
in  the  open  day.  He  did  not  poison  his  weapons 
and  give  the  thrust  of  the  assassin.  But,  stand- 
ing in  God's  light,  he  fought  what  he  believed  to 
be  God's  battles  against  principalities  and  powers, 
with  the  weapons  of  a  man.  He  gave  hard 
blows,  but  never  hit  below  the  belt. 

HIS    DEATH. 

In  his  autobiography  Mr.  Douglass  describes 
the  anxiety  with  which  millions  watched  the 
breaking  of  the  day  when  President  Lincoln  had 
promised  to  let  loose  the  thunderbolts  of  war 
against  slavery,  and  give  the  watchword  "  Free- 
dom for  all  "  to  our  gallant  soldiers  in  blue,  to  see 
if  it  would  be  done.  True  as  the  movement  of 
the  stars,  the  mandate  came.  No  such  watchins^ 
was  his,  when  a  few  days  since  he  was  delivered 
from  the  entanglements  and  infirmities  of  this 


244  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

mortal  prison-house,  somewhat  shattered  in  its 
walls  by  seventy-seven  years'  occupancy,  where 
we  all  wait  the  emancipation  act  of  our  great 
Captain,  of  Him  who  has  broken  through  the 
bars  of  death,  and  brought  life  and  immortality 
to  light  in  the  gospel.  The  summons  came  as 
came  the  horsemen  and  chariots  of  Israel  to 
Elijah,  straight  from  the  excellent  glory,  and 
before  we  could  say,  "  My  father,"  the  splendid 
retinue  of  heaven  had  returned  with  their  deliv- 
ered guest,  leaving  only  dust  and  ashes. 

It  was  natural  for  Mr.  Douglass  to  come  back 
here  to  the  bosom  of  the  Methodist  church. 
Here  he  sat  in  that  draped  pew,  as  said  Professor 
Shedd,  after  resigning  his  chair,  "  Getting  ready 
to  die,"  saying  to  his  old  mother  church  that  all 
the  past  was  forgiven,  repeating  in  his  heart  the 
words  of  Ruth  to  her  mother,  Naomi :  "  Thy 
people  shall  be  my  people  and  thy  God  my 
God,"  hiding  himself  anew,  as  he  used  to  sing  in 
his  Anacostia  home,  in  the  "  Cleft  of  the  Rock  " 
that  was  smitten  on  Calvary.  She  long  ago  had 
made  him  a  preacher  before  he  became  an  orator. 
This  was  the  expectation  and  prayer  of  Uncle 
Lawson,  while  he  was  yet  a  slave.  So  that  here, 
again,  like  a  vessel  that  had  made  many  a  rough 
voyage,  but  now  comes  back  to  final  anchorage, 
Mr.  Douglass  each  Lord's  day  sat  with  his  dearly 
cherished  companion  in   this   sanctuarv  of  God. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  245 

Call  this  man  irreligious,  an  infidel  ?  This  man, 
whose  foundations  of  truth  and  righteousness 
were  established  in  God  !  This  man,  with  whom 
one  with  the  form  of  the  Son  of  man  had  so 
often  walked  in  a  hotter  than  a  Nebuchad- 
nezzar furnace.  This  man,  with  the  spirit  of 
God's  kingdom,  as  the  angels  sang  it,  deep  within 
him !  Nay,  call  him  father,  brother,  husband, 
friend !  Have  we  forgotten  the  v^^ords  of  our 
Great  Liberator  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth, 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me, 
because  He  hath  sent  me  to  preach  deliverance 
to  the  captive"?  Have  we  forgotten  the  epithets 
that  were  thick  in  the  air  about  our  Master : 
"  Beelzebub !  He  casteth  out  devils  through  the 
prince  of  the  devils  "  ?  Gentle  with  a  womanly 
gentleness,  wise  with  a  wisdom  beyond  that  of  the 
universities,  patient,  long-suffering,  and  kind, 
always  ready  to  forgive,  always  ready  with  the 
word  of  cheer ;  this  is  the  man  we  mourn !  Lips 
from  which  have  fallen  such  golden  eloquence, 
eyes  from  which  have  flashed  such  radiance, 
heart  with  such  great  throbs  of  sympathy  for  all 
God's  downtrodden  ones,  hands  which  were 
always  open  and  outstretched  toward  the 
v/retched ;  these  were  his,  these  belonged  to  that 
man  whom  we  called  Frederick  Douglass. 
Through  the  change  of  the  greatest  and  most 
eventful   period   in   American  history,  not   once 


246  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

did  lie  lose  his  footing;  not  once  did  he  forfeit 
the  companionship  of  our  greatest;  ay,  not  once 
did  he  lose  his  hold  noon  God. 

Here  is  thv  greatest  son.  rnv  }>Iarvland.  Rise 
up  to  greet  him  as  he  passes  through.  Seventy- 
seven  vears  ag-o  thou  o-avest  him  the  birth  of  the 
bondman,  but  thou  hast  lost  him.  The  nation 
has  claimed  him — the  vride  world.  Thou  great 
Virginia  planter,  sleeping  by  the  Potomac,  let 
the  river  bear  thee  these  tidins^s  :  "  What  thou 
didst  with  thy  bondmen,  we  have  done  with 
ours."  The  tread  of  the  soldier  is  around  thy 
slumber  no  more.  And  thou  martyr-soul,  be- 
neath God's  throne,  to  whom  was  given  to  speak 
the  fiat  of  freedom  to  millions  of  men,  women,  and 
children  whose  lot  was  like  this  man's,  who  were 
thus  "  cabined,  cribbed  and  confined  "  though 
God's  image  was  in  them,  take  this  martyr-spirit 
to  thy  celestial  companionship.  And  thou 
great  Empire  State,  who  gavest  to  this  man  a 
home,  where  he  could  earn  his  bread  and  rear  his 
children,  at  a  time  when  he  had  not  where  to  lay 
his  head,  and  by  the  broad  flow  of  whose  great 
river  sleeps  the  dust  of  freedom's  greatest  cap- 
tain, take  to  thy  central  heart  and  bear  on  thy 
bosom,  as  the  ages  svv-eep  more  and  more  into 
the  sunlight  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  the  battle- 
scarred  form  of  Frederick  Douglass.  Sleep, 
freedom's    herald   in  the   land   of    the   freeborn. 


The  Douglass  Funeral. — In  front  of  the  Central  Church. 


The  Douglass  Funeral.— On  Church  Street ;  the  Line  of  March. 


LIFE    OF    FLIEDERICK    DOUGLASS.  247 

Thine  exile  is  over.  Thou  art  dowered  with  the 
freedom  of  the  city  of  God.  All  hail  and 
farewell ! 

Prof.  John  Hutchinson  came  to  attend  the 
funeral,  as  the  only  survivor  of  the  famous 
Hutchinson  fam.ily  and  the  only  living  representa- 
tive of  the  "  old  guard  "  of  abolition  agitators. 
Though  bearing  the  burden  of  nearly  fourscore 
years,  his  long  hair  and  beard  silvered  by  age, 
his  step  was  firm  and  his  voice  strong  and  clear. 
It  w^as  his  family  that  did  so  much  in  former  days 
by  their  sweet  songs  to  bring  about  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  slave.  He  v/as  present  to  pay  his 
tribute  of  respect  to  his  friend  and  coworker  in 
the  abolition  cause.  After  speaking  of  his  labors 
with  Mr.  Douglass,  he  referred  to  the  scenes  of 
the  New  York  riots,  when  Douglass  and  Ward, 
tv/o  liberated  slaves,  with  the  vvhite  abolitionists, 
faced  the  angry  mob.  He  spoke  of  other  incidents 
in  the  life  of  Mr.  Douglass  — his  fight  against 
slavery  and  struggles  for  manhood  rights,  —  and 
then  chanted  in  a  tone  low  and  sweet  a  requiem 
ode  to  the  dead,  closing  with  the  refrain :  — 

"  Lay  him  low,  lay  him  low 
Under  the  grasses  or  under  the  snow  ; 
What  cares  he  ?     He  cannot  know. 
Lay  him  low,  lay  him  low." 

In  the  absence  of  the  Haytien  minister,  who 
was   unable  to  be  present   at   the   funeral,  Mr. 


Haentjens,  secretary  of  the  legation,  represented 
the  Haytien  government.  He  expressed  in  the 
French  language  the  personal  regret  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  legation  at  the  death  of  the  man  they 
all  knew  and  loved,  and  also  the  regret  of  the 
Haytien  republic  over  the  loss  of  one  who  was 
the  greatest  benefactor  of  his  race. 

Hon.  John  S.  Durham,  ex-United  States  min- 
ister to  Hayti,  who  was  seated  in  the  pulpit,  came 
forvv^ard  by  request  and  translated  into  English 
the  remarks  of  Mr.  Haentjens. 

Bishop  A.  W.  VVayman  of  Baltimore,  whose 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Douglass  covered  a  long 
period,  made  a  few  appropriate  remarks. 

Rev.  W.  B.  Derrick  of  New  York  followed  in  a 
brief  address,  dwelling  upon  the  services  which 
the  deceased  had  rendered  his  race  and  man- 
kind. 

Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony,  after  expressing  the 
sorrow  she  felt  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Douglass, 
with  whom  her  association  had  been  especially 
cordial  and  friendly  on  account  of  like  views 
entertained  by  them  on  w^oman  suffrage  and 
other  questions  of  national  interest,  read  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton, 
who  could  not  be  present  because  of  sickness:  — 

"  Taking  up  the  morning  Tribune,  the  first 
words  that  caught  my  eye  thrilled  my  very  soul. 
*  Frederick    Douglass    is    dead!'      What    vi^ 'd 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  249 

memories  thick  and  fast  flashed  through  my 
mind  and  held  me  spellbound  in  contemplation 
of  the  long  years  since  first  we  met. 

"  Trained  in  the  severe  school  of  slavery,  I  saw 
him  first  before  a  Boston  audience,  fresh  from 
the  land  of  bondage.  He  stood  there  like  an 
African  prince,  conscious  of  his  dignity  and 
pov/er,  grand  in  his  physical  proportions,  majestic 
in  his  wrath,  as  with  keen  wit,  satire,  and  indig- 
nation he  portrayed  the  bitterness  of  slavery,  the 
humiliation  of  subjection  to  those  who  in  all 
human  virtues  and  capacities  were  inferior  to 
himself.  His  denunciation  of  our  national  crime, 
of  the  wild  and  guilty  fantasy  that  men  could 
hold  property  in  man,  poured  like  a  torrent  that 
fairly  made  his  hearers  tremble. 

"  Thus  I  first  sav/  him,  and  wondered  as  I 
listened  that  any  mortal  man  should  have  ever 
tried  to  subjugate  a  being  with  such  marvelous 
powers,  such  self-respect,  such  intense  love  of 
liberty. 

"  Around  him  sat  the  great  anti-slavery  orators 
of  the  day,  watching  his  effect  on  that  immense 
audience  completely  magnetized  with  his  elo- 
Cjuence,  laughing  and  crying  by  turns  with  his 
rapid  flights  from  pathos  to  humor.  All  other 
speakers  seemed  tame  after  Douglass.  Sitting 
near,  I  heard  Phillips  say  to  Lydia  Maria  Child  : 
*  Verily,  this  boy,  who   has  only  just   graduated 


250  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

from  the  "  southern  institution  "  (as  slavery  was 
called),  throws  us  all  in  the  shade.'  'Ah,'  she 
replied,  '  the  iron  has  entered  his  soul,  and  he 
knows  the  wrongs  of  slavery  subjectively ;  the 
rest  of  you  speak  only  from  an  objective  point  of 
view.' 

"  He  used  to  preach  a  sermon  in  imitation  of 
the  Methodist  clergy,  from  the  text,  '  Servants, 
obey  your  masters,'  which  the  people  were 
never  tired  of  hearing.  Often,  after  he  had 
spoken  an  hour,  shouts  v/ould  go  up  from  all 
parts  of  the  house,  '  Now,  Douglass,  give  us  the 
sermon.'  Some  of  our  literary  critics  pronounced 
that  the  best  piece  of  satire  in  the  English 
language. 

"  The  last  time  I  visited  his  home  in  Anacostia 
I  asked  himx  if  he  ever  had  the  sermon  printed. 
He  said, '  No.'  '  Could  you  reproduce  it? '  said  I. 
He  said,  '  No,  I  could  not  bring  back  the  old 
feelinof  if  I  tried,  and  I  would  not  if  I  could. 
The  blessings  of  liberty  I  have  so  long  enjoyed, 
and  the  many  tender  friendships  I  have  with  the 
Saxon  race  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean,  have 
taught  me  such  sweet  lessons  of  forgiveness  that 
the  painful  memories  of  my  early  days  are  almost 
obliterated,  and  I  would  not  recall  them.' 

"As  an  orator,  writer,  and  editor,  Douglass 
holds  an  honored  place  among  the  gifted  men  of 
his   day.     As   a  man   of   business  and  a  public 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  25  I 

officer  he  has  been  pre-eminently  successful; 
honest  and  upright  in  all  his  dealings,  he  bears  an 
enviable  reputation. 

"As  a  husband,  father,  neighbor,  and  friend,  in 
all  social  relations,  he  has  been  faithful  and 
steadfast  to  the  end.  He  was  the  only  man  I 
ever  knew  who  understood  the  degradation  of 
disfranchisement  for  w^omen.  Through  all  the 
long  years  of  our  struggle  he  has  been  a  familiar 
figure  on  our  platform,  v/ith  always  an  inspiring 
word  to  say.  In  the  very  first  convention  he 
helped  me  to  carry  the  resolution  I  had  penned, 
demandino:  v/oman  suffrasfe. 

"  Frederick  Douglass  is  not  dead  !  His  grand 
character  will  long  be  an  object  lesson  in  our 
national  history ;  his  lofty  sentiments  of  liberty, 
justice,  and  equality,  echoed  on  every  platform 
over  our  broad  land,  must  influence  and  inspire 
many  coming  generations  !  " 

(Signed) 

ELIZABETH    CADY    STANTON, 
26  West  6ist  street,  New  York,  February  21,  1895. 

Mrs.  Mary  Wright  Sewall,  president  of  the 
Women's  Council,  made  a  short  but  impressive 
address,  in  the  course  of  which  she  used  these 
words  :  "  If  our  little  world  is  made  smaller  by 
his  departure,  we  may  rest  assured  that  there  is  a 
wider  world  beyond  that  is  rendered  greater  still 
by  his  coming." 


252  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Prof.  J.  W.  Cromwell  now  read  a  number  of 
letters  from  prominent  persons,  expressing  their 
sorrow  caused  by  the  death  of  the  great  man,  and 
regretting  their  inability  to  attend  the  funeral. 

The  Rev.  Anna  Shaw  then  offered  a  fervent 
prayer. 

The  services  were  closed  with  the  benediction 
by  Bishop  R.  S.  Williams  of  the  C.  M.  E.  Church 
of  America. 

At  5.30  o'clock  the  casket  containing  the 
remains  was  borne  by  the  pallbearers  from  the 
church  to  the  hearse.  The  military  escort,  con- 
sisting of  the  Capital  City  Guards  and  a 
detachment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  of  the 
colored  camps  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic, quickly  formed  into  line,  and  the  procession 
moved  slowly  to  the  depot.  Arriving  there  the 
body  was  placed  under  military  guard  until  the 
hour  of  7.20,  when  it  vv^as  carried  over  the  Penn- 
sylvania railroad  to  Rochester,  New  York,  for 
interment. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Obsequies  at  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Tuesday,  February  26,  the  day  on  which  the 
bodv  of  Frederick  Douglass  was  laid  at  rest  in 
Mt.  Hope  cemetery,  will  ever  remain  a  memora- 
ble one  in  the  history  of  Rochester.  On  this 
day  the  city  was  in  mourning  and  showed  its 
respect  for  the  man  who  w^as  for  so  many  years 
its  distinguished  resident.  On  the  public  build- 
ings and  on  many  business  blocks  the  national 
colors  floated  at  half-mast. 

There  were  assembled  at  the  depot,  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  the  funeral  train  from  Washington, 
the  city  officials, — Mayor  Lewis,  Aldermen  Ash- 
ton,  Cook,  Green,  McMillan,  Dewey,  Harris, 
Kelly,  Tracy,  Caliban,  Rauber,  Fox,  Ward, 
Pauckner,  A^ikenhead,  Simmelink,  and  Decker  ; 
the  honorary  and  active  pallbearers ;  the  Doug- 
lass League,  and  a  countless  multitude  of  people, 
including  many  persons  who  had  known  Mr. 
Douglass  during  his  residence  in  Rochester. 

The  train  bearing  the  bod}^  entered  the  central 
station  of  the  Northern  Central  railroad  at  9.25 
o'clock  A,  M.  Those  accompanying  the  remains 
from  Washins^ton  were  the  immediate  members 
of  the  family  and  several  friends.     Included  in 


254  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

the  number  were  the  following  persons :  the 
widow,  Mrs.  Frederick  Douglass ;  sons,  Lewis 
and  Charles ;  daughter,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Sprague  ;  two 
granddaughters,  Estelle  and  Hattie  Sprague; 
grandson,  Joseph  Douglass ;  General  John 
Eaton,  ex-Commissioner  of  Education,  represent- 
ing the  trustee  board  of  Howard  University,  of 
which  Mr.  Douglass  was  a  member  ;  Prof.  George 
W.  Cook,  representing  the  faculty  of  the  same 
institution,  and  Mr.  Julius  J.  Chilcoat,  sent  as  a 
representative  of  the  Asbury  M.  E.  Church. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  train  the  pallbearers, 
reverently  lifting  the  casket,  carried  it  to  the 
hearse,  the  people  standing  silent  with  uncovered 
heads.  The  Fifty-fourth  Regiment  Band  lead- 
ing, immediately  the  procession  took  up  its  line 
of  march  to  the  City  Hall.  This  building  was 
beautifully  and  elaborately  decorated.  The  por- 
tico was  draped  with  flags  and  heavy  black 
bunting.  From  the  ceiling  and  sides  of  the 
main  corridor,  where  the  body  was  to  rest,  were 
suspended  the  national  colors  and  emblems  of 
mourning. 

The  procession  reaching  the  City  Hall,  the 
casket  was  placed  in  position  on  the  catafalque, 
the  Douglass  League  standing  on  the  right  and 
the  honorary  bearers  on  the  left.  Here  the  body 
lay  in  state  from  lo  a.  m.  to  2  p.  m.,  and  was 
viewed  by  thousands  of  people,  including  many 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  255 

prominent  citizens.  The  pupils  of  the  public 
schools,  accompanied  by  their  teachers,  were  given 
an  opportunity  to  view  the  remains^  special 
arrangements  having  been  made  for  them. 

The  Q;uard  of  honor  at  the  hall  consisted  of 
Corporal  Ray  Crane,  and  Privates  John  Bricker, 
A.  Birdsell,  J.  W.  Sherman,  and  B.  R.  Ordway, 
of  the  Eighth  Separate  Company  of  the  National 
Guard ;  Lieutenant  Schwartz,  and  patrolmen 
Kron,  Moore,  Maguire,  Johnson,  Moran,  Mc- 
Alester,  Mullane,  Shephard,  Scholl,  Klein,  Shee- 
han,  and  Sullivan,  of  the  Police  Department. 

The  funeral  cortege,  leaving  the  City  Hall  at 
2  o'clock,  marched  slowly  to  the  Central  Church. 
The  Fifty-fourth  Regiment  band,  playing  the 
funeral  m.arch,  led  the  procession.  Then  came 
the  Eighth  Separate  Company,  under  comm^and 
of  Captain  H.  B.  Henderson,  followed  by  a  platoon 
of  forty-eight  policemen  in  charge  of  Captain 
McDermott.  The  next  in  line  were  the  active 
and  honorary  pallbearers  in  carriages,  Mayor, 
a.nd  members  of  the  Common  Council,  and  ex- 
mayors.  After  these  followed  the  hearse,  drawn 
by  four  white  horses,  richly  caparisoned.  Mem- 
bers of  the  DouHass  Leaorue  acted  as  an  escort 
to  the  hearse. 

When  the  cortege  had  reached  the  church  the 
casket  was  carried  to  the  front  of  the  altar  by 
the  body  bearers,  the  organist  playing  the  funeral 


2^,6  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 


yj 


march.  Then  followed  in  order  the  honorary 
bearers,  the  members  of  the  family,  and  the  per- 
sons who  accompanied  the  remains  to  the  city. 

Five  hundred  seats  were  reserved  in  the  center 
of  the  church  for  the  fam.ily,  pallbearers,  friends, 
city  officials,  and  organizations.  After  these 
were  occupied  the  remaining  seats  in  the  great 
audience  room  cf  the  church  were  rapidly  filled. 
The  seating  arrangements  were  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Henry  H.  Pry  or. 

The  active  pallbearers  were  C.  P.  Lee,  William 
Allen,  A.  H.  Harris,  R.  J.  Jeffrey,  R.  L.  Kent, 
Henry  A.  Spencer,  F.  S.  Cunningham,  and  C.  B. 
Lee ;  the  honorary  bearers,  Hon.  H.  S.  Greenleaf, 
J.  K.  Post,  Hon.  John  VanVoorhis,  Ex-Mayor 
Henry  L.  Fish,  William  Carroll,  Richard  Curran, 
Charles  W.  Briggs,  George  C.  Clarkson,  and  N.  C. 
Bradstreet. 

In  the  pulpit  were  seated  Rev.  Dr.  H.  H. 
Stebbins  of  the  Central  Church,  Rev.  W.  C.  Gan- 
nett of  the  First  Unitarian  Church,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
W.  R.  Taylor  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church, 
Rev.  Dr.  W.  A.  Ely  of  Zion  African  M.  E. 
Church,  Rev.  J.  E.  Mason  of  Zion  A.  M.  E. 
Church,  Miss  Mary  S.  Anthony,  Superintendent 
of  Police  Cleary,  Mayor  Levvas,  Aldermen  Ashton, 
Cook,  Green,  McMillan,  Dewey,  Harris,  Kelly, 
Trac}^  Caliban,  Rauber,  Fox,  Ward,  Pauckner, 
Aikenhead,  Simmelink,  and  Decker. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  257 

A  profusion  of  floral  tributes  from  Rochester 
friends  and  from  other  cities  were  placed  upon 
the  casket  and  around  the  altar.  Palms  and 
potted  plants  decorated  the  front  of  the  pulpit.^ 
above  which  were  draped  large  flags  and  mourn- 
ing emblems. 

The  funeral  services  were  opened  w^ith  the 
hymn,  "  Remember  now  Thy  Creator,"  sung  by 
a  quartette  com.posed  of  Messrs.  Bowman,  Hays, 
Millham,  and  Learned,  after  Vv^hich  the  Rev.  Dr. 
William  R.  Taylor,  of  the  Brick  Church,  offered 
this  prayer:  — 

"  Unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  do  we  lift  up  our  souls. 

"  We  are  in  the  presence  of  a  dread  reality 
and  a  solemn  mystery  —  the  reality  and  mystery 
of  death. 

"  But  we  are  also  face  to  face  with  a  greater 
reality  and  a  greater  mystery  —  the  reality  and 
mystery  of  a  human  life  that  was  full  of  divine 
goodness,  divine  feeling,  and  divine  power. 

"  Onlv  Thou  who  dost  still  continue  to  make 
men  and  women  in  Thine  own  image  and  share 
with  them  Thine  own  divine  nature  ;  only  Thou 
who  by  Thy  Providence  dost  rule  in  their  affairs, 
bringing  liberty  and  peace  out  of  their  bloody 
conflicts  and  a  hio:her  rio^hteousness  from  their 
very  sins  ;  only  Thou  who  didst  kindle  a  divine 
fire  within  the  soul   of  this  man  whose  mortal 

body  we  are  this  day  to  bury  in  the  earth,  who 

7 


258  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

didst  give  him  his  great  heart  and  his  eloquent 
tongue,  and  make  him  a  power  in  the  stirring  and 
eventful  period  in  which  Thou  didst  cast  his  lot ; 
only  Thou  couldst  teach  us  the  lesson  of  his  life 
and  through  it  fit  us  the  better  to  ser\^e  Thee 
and  our  fellow  men. 

"  We  therefore  entreat  Thee  for  the  influence 
of  Thy  Holy  Spirit  upon  our  spirits  that  we  may 
see  Thee  and  recognize  the  solemn  realities,  the 
noble  opportunities  and  the  unescapable  respon- 
sibilities of  our  life.  Forgive  and  cleanse  us. 
Set  us  free  from  every  form  of  bondage ;  teach 
us,  lead  us,  help  us,  inspire  us,  and  save  us 
through  Him  who  hath  taught  us  to  pray,  saying, 
'  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven.'  " 

Then  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  A.  Ely,  pastor  of  the 
Zion  A.  j\I.  E.  Church,  read  scriptural  passages 
appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

MR.  Richardson's  tribute  of  respect.  * 
Mr.   Sherman   D.   Richardson   then    read   the 
following  original  poem  :  — 

DOUGLASS. 

I  saw  the  slave  of  Maryland 

Upon  the  soil  of  freedom  stand. 

The  waves  that  once  the  Mayflower  bore 

Were  dashing  on  New  England's  shore. 

The  Stars  and  Stripes  showed  Northern  will 

On  breezes  from  old  Bunker  Hill ; 

And  as  he  drank  in  liberty 

I  saw  the  man  from  serfdom  free. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  259 

I  saw  him  like  a  monarch  stand 
With  Lincoln's  edict  in  his  hand. 
With  lips  infused  from  heaven's  fire. 
With  thoughts  that  would  all  time  inspire 
Transfigured  on  Columbia's  sod  ; 
A  living  type  from  Freedom's  God  ; 
Incarnate  soul  of  Liberty- 
He  stood  — a  race  and  land  were  free. 

I  saw  again  God's  pioneer 

In  grand  repose  upon  his  bier. 

The  lines  that  showed  the  reaper's  path 

Were  softened  with  death's  aftermath. 

But  yet  that  face  more  grandly  taught 

Of  will  and  power,  of  battles  fought. 

Of  victories  won  for  Liberty. 

The  crown  at  last,  the  soul  was  free. 

MISS  MARY  s.  Anthony's  tribute. 

Miss  Mary  S.  Anthony  began  her  remarks  by 
saying  that  she  felt  that  the  women  of  Rochester 
must  speak  a  word  in  eulogy  of  Frederick  Doug- 
lass.    Continuing  she  spoke  as  follows :  — 

"  It  is  so  seldom  that  any  person,  man  or 
woman,  born  amidst  the  most  unfavorable  sur- 
roundings, making  a  life-work  of  the  most 
unpopular  subjects,  lives  as  did  this  husband  and 
father  to  see  the  world  come  to  recognize  the 
beautiful  precepts  of  the  brotherhood  of  man, 
that  the  most  hopeful  and  best  word  one  can  say 
is,  thank  God  and  take  courage. 

"  When  we  think  of  the  first  years  of  his  life 
in  our  midst  and  compare  them  with  the  last 
visit  he  mxade  here  with  the  presidential  party  of 


26o  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Harrison,  to  take  part  in  the  dedication  of  the 
soldiers'  monument,  he  being  one  of  the  honored 
guests  at  the  Cottage  banquet  at  Ontario  Beach, 
we  may  v/ell  exclaim,  'The  world  does  move.' 

"  The  struggles  and  trials,  and  they  were  legion, 
which  Frederick  Douglass  endured  for  seventy- 
eight  years,  are  to-day  crystallized  into  a  grand 
prophecy,  of  which  this  hour  is  the  beginning  of 
the  fulfillment. 

"  The  appreciation  and  love  we,  the  women  of 
Rochester,  bear  toward  our  friend  and  coworker 
cannot  be  better  expressed  than  by  reading  the 
resolutions  passed  at  the  meeting  of  the  National 
Council  of  Women  in  Washington." 

Miss  Anthony  then  read  the  memorial  adopted 
by  the  Women's  National  Conference  at  Wash- 
ington on  the  death  of  Mr.  Douglass. 

DR.  GANNETT  DELIVERS  THE  FUNERAL  ORATION. 

The  Rev.  W.  C.  Gannett,  pastor  of  the 
Unitarian  Church,  was  the  principal  speaker  of 
the  occasion.  In  part  this  is  what  the  eloquent 
clero-vman  said  :  — 

"  This  is  an  occasion  of  grief,  but  perhaps  more 
of  pride.  This  is  an  impressive  moment  in  the 
history  of  our  city.  There  was  a  man  who,  when 
he  became  a  fellow  citizen  here,  lived  in  one  of 
the  humblest  homes  of  the  city ;  a  man  whose 
color  exposed   him  to  insult  and  rebuke,  and  a 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  26 1 

man  whose  race  debarred  him  from  the  wealthier 
homes  of  the  city. 

"  This  man  has  come  back  home  to-day.  He 
did  not  come  surrounded  by  the  grace  of  a  presi- 
dential company,  as  he  did  when  he  last  came  to 
Rochester,  but  he  came  in  a  little  circle  of  his 
best  beloved  ones,  and  our  city  went  forth  to 
meet  him  at  its  gates.  He  has  been  welcomed 
for  once  in  the  most  impressive  manner.  The 
Mayor  of  the  city  and  other  official  representa- 
tives of  its  government  have  done  him  honor. 
He  has  been  carried  through  the  streets  and  the 
people  have  stood  with  their  hats  lifted  as  he 
passed. 

"At  our  City  Hall  he  has  lain  in  state,  and  the 
very  children  of  our  schools  have  been  dismissed 
that  they  might  there  view  his  remains  in  order 
that  they  may  tell  their  children  that  it  was  their 
privilege  to  look  upon  the  face  of  Frederick 
Douglass. 

"And  now  at  this  hour,  in  this  very  city, 
thousands  of  people  are  gathered  together  to  do 
him  honor  by  their  presence  at  least.  This  dem- 
onstration means  at  least  two  thino^s.  It  is  a 
personal  tribute  and  an  impersonal  tribute.  It  is 
a  tribute,  not  simply  to  this  great  public  orator, 
but  to  the  man  who  has  exemplified  before  the 
eyes  of  all  America  the  inspiring  example  of  a 
man  who  made  himself.     Not  all  American  citi- 


2  62       LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

zens  can  make  use  of  the  opportunities  which 
the  country  offers  to  them,  but  here  was  a  man 
who,  when  his  country  held  out  the  hand  of 
opportunity,  although  it  was  a  scanty  hand,  he 
niade  use  of  it  and  made  more  opportunities  to 
use. 

"  Could  there  have  been  a  future  more  unprom- 
ising than  that  before  Frederick  Douglass?  Nature 
gave  him  birth,  but  denied  him  a  father  and  almost 
denied  him  a  mother.  He  was  born  a  slave  in 
1817,  forty  years  before  anti-slavery  was  the  word 
in  the  mouth  of  every  citizen  in  the  North.  You 
know  what  the  South  was  at  that  time,  what  a 
living  hell  was  before  the  slave  who  tried  to 
make  freedom  for  himself.  All  of  the  Southern 
States  were  linked  together  in  laws  to  hold  the 
black  man  to  the  ground,  and  the  law  of  the 
North  required  that  fugitive  slaves  should  be  sent 
back  to  bondage.  You  know  that  public  opinion 
in  the  North  was  ao^ainst  the  slave.  At  that  time 
in  the  South  it  was  a  crime  for  a  slave  to  try  to 
learn  to  read,  and  it  was  a  crime  punished  by 
death  for  a  slave  to  lift  his  hand  asrainst  a  white 
man. 

"  The  North  was  pledged  to  send  fleeing 
slaves  back  to  that  Southern  hell.  It  was  in 
that  time  that  Frederick  Douglass  was  born. 
What  was  his  training:  ?  A  kind  mistress  and 
a  hard  master.      He  had  no    school   advantages. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  263 

Even  the  college  of  the  wood  pile,  the  place 
of  learning  of  so  many  self-made  men,  was  denied 
him.  The  kind  mistress,  in  her  innocence, 
did  give  him  instruction  in  the  A,  B,  C's,  but  a 
hard  master  was  ever  ready  to  give  him  the  lash 
upon  his  back.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  of 
these  did  the  young  slave  more  good,  but  both 
tended  to  make  him  the  Frederick  Douglass 
whom  we  know.  If  you  would  know  more  about 
this  read  the  chapter  in  his  book  called  '  My  Last 
Flogging.'  Read  the  story  of  the  two  hours  com- 
bat of  the  seventeen-year-old  boy  w^ith  his  white 
master.  Read  the  story  of  his  final  victory. 
Those  two  hours,  he  says,  were  the  turning  point 
in  his  life.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was  still 
a  slave,  but  he  was  a  free  man  in  his  soul. 

"  Now  the  hope  of  liberty  began  burning  in 
his  breast.  Then  came  his  escape,  and  soon 
after  it  came  the  speech  at  Nantucket.  Lord 
Byron  wrote  a  book,  it  is  said,  went  to  bed  and 
woke  up  famous.  Frederick  Douglass  went  to  a 
little  island  off  the  New  England  coast,  made  a 
speech  and  sat  down  famous.  From  that  time 
his  career  of  fame  increased.  You  remember 
him  as  an  orator,  for  many  of  you  heard  the 
marvel  of  his  princely  eloquence,  clothed  in  the 
poetical  tones  of  him  who  was  once  a  slave.  It 
was  then  that  he  lived  a  quiet  life  among  you, 
occasionally  going  away  to  deliver  a  lecture,  and 


264  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

then  coming  back  to  edit  his  paper,  v/hich  many 
of  you  read. 

"  Meanwhile  history'  was  making.  All  of  the 
streams  directly  to  the  east  of  the  Rocky 
mountains  flow  into  the  Mississippi  river.  So 
at  that  time  all  of  the  streams  of  national  life 
were  flowing  into  one  valley,  and  that  valley  was 
the  valley  of  slavery.  War  followed.  The  war 
ended  and  history  was  made.  Frederick  Douglass 
became  a  free  American  citizen ;  he  became 
Elector-at- Large  of  the  state  of  New  York  ;  he 
became  Marshal  for  the  District  of  Columbia; 
he  became  Minister  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  Hayti ;  he  became  a  leader  in  oratory 
and  a  part  of  the  nation's  history. 

"  He  is  here  in  our  presence  to-day  and  we  are 
paying  tribute  to  him.  Not  alone  do  we  pay 
tribute  to  him  because  he  was  a  self-made  man. 
He  w^as  a  man  of  large  heart.  Who  ever  had 
greater  opportunity  to  be  large  hearted  ?  And 
who  ever  needed  more  to  be  large  hearted  ? 
When  the  lash  was  lifted  from  his  back  still  the 
line  was  drawn.  He  was  always  under  that 
opportunity  of  sensitiveness,  but  under  that 
chronic  race  sensitiveness,  the  victim  of  chronic 
insult,  there  beat  a  heart  of  chronic  forgiveness, 
a  heart  of  charity,  an  ever  growing  charity. 

"  Frederick  Douglass  was  a  gentleman  born. 
Although  he  grew  up  under  insult  he  became  a 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  265 

kingly  gentleman.  That  was  Frederick  Douglass. 
If  you  and  I  have  never  challenged  long  and 
loud  public  sentiment  of  our  day,  never  will 
tribute  like  this  await  us.  It  was  because  he 
lived  in  the  dark  and  cold  reproach  that  we  now 
bring  him  into  the  warmth  of  this  tribute.  It  is 
not  simply  a  tribute  to  the  man.  A  personal 
tribute  loses  itself  in  the  thought  that  it  is  trans- 
figured in  the  impersonal.  We  are  here  honoring 
the  race  of  Frederick  Douglass.  White  people 
have  assembled  here  to  do  honor  to  black  people. 
Here  is  an  instance  of  kingly  mind,  of  kingly 
heart,  of  kingly  manner ;  an  instance  of  honoring 
him  and  honoring  his  race. 

"  Not  only  do  I  like  to  think  that  in  the  150,- 
000  people  of  Rochester  but  three  or  four  will 
be  picked  out  twenty  years  hence  as  first  citizens, 
but  that  of  these  two  will  be  of  those  who  have 
been  bond  men  and  bond  women.  And  one  of 
the  two  is  lying  here  before  us  to-day.  Few 
people  in  Rochester  ever  became  famous 
throughout  the  state;  very  few  people  in  Roch- 
ester ever  became  famous  throughout  the  whole 
of  America,  but  here  is  a  man  whom  the  news- 
papers of  two  continents  have  printed  editorials 
about  during  the  past  week.  He  is  one  of  the 
three  or  four  who  may  be  called  the  first  citizens 
of  Rochester. 

"  We  have  as  yet  but  one  bronze  monument 


266  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

upon  the  squares  of  Rochester.  Shall  the  next 
be  of  Frederick  Douglass,  wonderful  orator  and 
ex-slave.?  I  hope  so.  If  this  wish  is  realized 
Frederick  Douglass  will  not  only  represent  an 
individual,  but  something  grander.  That  monu- 
ment of  bronze  already  erected  in  our  city  not 
only  represents  Abraham  Lincoln,  but  surround- 
ing the  statue  of  bronze  are  all  of  the  elements 
which  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  North. 
So  the  life  of  this  man  stands  as  the  representa- 
tive of  his  race.  It  stands  for  all  that  sin  of 
slavery  through  which  it  forced  its  way,  making 
that   insult  to  a  nation's  history  bend  and  break. 

"  I  hope  that  this  monument  will  stand  on  the 
streets  of  Rochester  before  our  boys  grow  up  to 
be  men.  A  part  of  the  nation's  history  is  this 
man's  emancipation  from  slavery  and  the  eman- 
cipation of  his  race  from  insult  and  prejudice. 
His  life  spans  the  whole  distance  from  the  awak- 
ening of  the  national  conscience  in  the  few  anti- 
slavery  fanatics  to  the  great  hallelujah  of  the 
end  w^hich  saw  no  shadow  of  slavery.  We  cannot 
do  this  man  honor  without  honoring  the  nation. 

"  Let  me  add  one  great  sentence,  the  greatest 
ever  uttered  by  the  lips  of  an  American,  and 
those  lips  were  Frederick  Douglass'.  It  is  a 
sentence  of  but  six  words,  but  they  are  worthy 
of  the  Bible :  — 

" '  One  with  God  is  a  majority.' 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  267 

"  That  is  a  sentence  for  all  reformers.  There 
is  no  need  to  fear  or  falter  if  you  are  one  with 
God  and  your  cause  is  right.  Frederick  Douglass 
spoke  those  words.  Those  eyes  that  you  have 
often  looked  into  are  now  sightless,  and  that 
voice  that  has  stirred  the  deepest  and  best  senti- 
ments within  you  is  now  silent.  He  has  come 
home." 

By  request  Mr.  George  W.  Walton  sang  an 
adaptation  of  "  Hide  Thou  Me."  This  was  Mr. 
Douglass'  favorite  hymn.  The  other  selections 
rendered  were,"  Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  and  "Gather- 
ing Home."  The  music  was  under  the  direction 
of  George  W.  Walton  and  Frank  N.  Mandeville. 

INVOCATION    OF    REV.    DR.    STEBBINS. 

The  final  prayer  and  benediction  were  pro- 
nounced by  Rev.  Dr.  H.  H.  Stebbins,  of  the 
Central  Church.     He  said  :  — 

"Almighty  God,  who  hast  been  our  dwelling 
place  in  all  generations,  in  whose  hand  are  our 
lives,  who  hast  appointed  the  bound  of  our  habi- 
tation, we  are  here  reverently  and  humbly  to 
worship  Thee,  to  acknowledge  the  benefits  with 
which  every  day  is  loaded,  to  confess  our  mani- 
fold unworthiness,  to  supplicate  Thy  continued 
favor,  and  especially  to  bow  submissively  before 
that  divine  decree  that  has  removed  from  our 
nation  one  of  its  most  distinguished  citizens. 


268  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

"  We  bless  Thee  for  the  man.  We  bless  Thee, 
above  the  color  of  his  face  and  the  bondage  of 
his  earlier  years,  that  with  such  scant  opportu- 
nity, that  throughout  the  severe  hardship,  the 
extreme  peril,  the  violent  prejudice,  and  the  bit- 
ter persecution  to  which  he  was  exposed,  he  was 
and  remained  the  man. 

"  We  bless  Thee  for  the  divinely  implanted 
instinct  of  freedom  that  could  never  essentially 
make  him  a  slave  to  any  man.  We  bless  Thee 
for  the  character  he  developed,  for  his  steadfast 
devotion  to  his  race,  for  the  great  ideas  that 
stirred  him,  for  the  honest  heart,  out  of  the 
abundance  of  which  he  spoke;  for  his  fidelity  to 
conviction,  for  his  steadfastness,  and  for  his 
ready  and  active  sympathy;  and  v/e  bless  Thee 
for  the  effective  pen  and  the  eloquent  tongue 
that  gave  such  brave  expression  to  what  was  in 
him.  We  bless  Thee,  most  of  all,  for  his  faith  in 
God,  a  faith  that  wrought  by  love,  that  purified 
the  heart,  and  that  stimulated  to  manifold 
endeavor.  We  bless  Thee  that  between  the  birth 
of  the  man  and  the  death  of  the  man  there 
lie  so  many  fruitful  years.  We  bless  Thee  for  the 
brave  fight  he  fought,  for  the  course  he  so  nobly 
finished,  and  for  the  faith  he  kept.  Surely  a 
crown  of  life  has  been  awaiting  him,  and  now  he 
wears  it.  Surely  he  has  been  welcomed  into  the 
higher  life  with  the  greeting,  '  Well   done,  good 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  269 

and  faithful  servant.'  We  would  add  our  tribute 
of  respect,  and  gratitude,  and  admiration,  and 
affection.  V/e  bless  Thee  that  so  much  of  the 
good  that  men  do  lives  after  them,  and  that  he, 
whose  mortal  remains  lie  before  us,  being  dead, 
yet  speaketh.  Help  us  to  hear  and  to  heed  the 
lesson  his  notable  life  teaches.  Let  our  admira- 
tion inspire  imitation,  make  us  better  men,  men 
of  God,  men  of  faith,  men  of  action,  truer  to  con- 
viction, more  ready  to  do  and  to  dare,  for  God 
and  man,  for  country  and  world. 

"Apply  Thy  balm  of  consolation  to  the  wife 
and  family  of  Thy  deceased  servant.  Comfort  all 
who  m.ourn  over  this  event.  We  thank  Thee  for 
the  safe  conduct,  thus  far,  of  these  precious 
remains.  Attend  them  to  the  resting  place, 
where  we  shall  gratefully  and  sacredly  cherish 
them.  Bless  our  city.  Into  our  municipal  life 
may  there  enter  such  laws  and  such  administra- 
tion as  shall  make  us  an  upright,  happy,  con- 
tented, and  united  community.  Bless  our 
beloved  land.  Bless  our  President  and  his 
immediate  advisers,  our  Congress,  the  Governors 
of  our  States,  the  Judges  of  our  Courts,  and  all 
who  bear  any  authority.  Help  us,  stimulated  by 
the  lives  of  worthy  citizens  who  have  gone  to 
their  reward,  to  cultivate  the  righteousness  that 
exalteth  a  nation.  Bless  all  lands  and  all  peoples 
that  on  earth  do  dwell.     May  government  become 


270  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

more  liberal.  May  God  be  universally  acknowl- 
edged as  Father,  and  may  all  men  live  together 
as  brethren. 

"  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  be  with  us  all.     Amen." 

AT    MOUNT    HOPE. 

At  the  close  of  the  services  in  the  church  the 
procession  re-formed  and  slowly  proceeded  to 
Mt.  Hope  cemetery.  The  streets  through  which 
the  cortege  passed  were  thronged  with  great 
crowds  of  people.  Sorrow  was  depicted  on  every 
countenance,  and  many  were  the  kind  expres- 
sions heard  as  the  great  champion  of  human 
freedom  and  equal  rights  was  borne  to  his  final 
resting  place. 

When  the  procession  reached  the  cemetery 
the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  R.  Taylor,  of  the  Brick  Presby- 
terian Church,  conducted,  in  the  presence  of  the 
family  and  a  few  friends,  the  burial  service, 
simple,  but  impressive.  The  body  was  then 
placed  in  a  vault  temporarily.  Later  it  will  be 
interred  in  the  family  burying  lot,  which  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  sites  of  Mt.  Hope  cemetery. 


CHAPTER     XVI. 

On  Sunday,  March  lo,  1895,  a  large  congrega- 
tion assembled  in  the  Fifteenth  Street  Presby- 
terian Church,  Washington,  D.  C,  to  hear  the 
obituary  tribute  paid  by  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  F.  J. 
Grimke,  D.  D.,  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Douglass. 
Dr.  Grimke,  in  his  discourse,  gave  a  complete 
and  splendid  philosophical  analysis  of  the  life 
and  character  of  the  deceased.  A  study  of 
this  sermon  will  be  instructive  and  inspiring. 

SERMON    BY   FRANCIS    J.    GRIMKE,    D.D. 

"And  the  king  said  unto  his  servants,  Know  ye  not  that 
there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  this  day?" — II.  Sam. 
iii.  38. 

On  the  evening  of  the  20th  of  February  there 
passed  from  the  stage  of  action  the  greatest  negro 
that  this  country  has  yet  produced ;  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  citizens  of  the  Republic,  and 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  century 
now  drawing  to  a  close.  The  shock  which  the 
announcement  of  his  death  produced  was  all  the 
more  startling,  inasmuch  as  it  was  entirely  unex- 
pected. There  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  the 
end  was  near.  Suddenly,  unexpectedly,  the 
summons  came,  and  in  a  moment  the  noble  form 


272  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

which  all  men  knew  and  delighted  to  look  upon 
was  laid  low. 

To  say  that  we  miss  him,  that  we  are  deeply, 
profoundly  saddened  by  the  thought  that  we  shall 
no  longer  hear  his  voice,  nor  see  his  face  in  our 
social  and  public  gatherings, — that  we  shall  no 
longer  have  his  great,  strong  arm  to  lean  upon, 
and  his  wise  counsel  to  guide  us  in  the  hour  of 
darkness  and  doubt,  in  our  efforts  to  solve  the 
perplexing  problems  which  still  confront  us  as  a 
race  in  this  country,  in  the  face  of  a  cruel  and 
bitter  race  prejudice, — is  but  feebly  to  express 
the  sentiment  that  we  all  feel  this  morning.  As 
David  felt  over  the  death  of  Jonathan,  so  do  we 
feel.  II.  Sam.  I  :  17-27.  "And  David  lamented 
with  this  lamentation  over  Saul  and  over  Jona- 
than his  son .  *  *  *  *  Thy  glory,  O  Israel, 
is  slain  upon  thy  high  places !  How  are  the 
mighty  fallen  !  Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it 
not  in  the  streets  of  Ashkelon ;  lest  the  daughters 
of  the  Philistines  rejoice,  lest  the  daughters  of  the 
uncircumcised  triumph.  Ye  mountains  of  Gil- 
boa,  let  there  be  no  dew,  nor  rain  upon  you, 
neither  fields  of  offerings:  for  there  the  shield 
of  the  mighty  was  vilely  cast  away,  the  shield  of 
Saul,  not  anointed  with  oil.  From  the  blood 
of  the  slain, from  the  fat  of  the  mighty,  the  bow  of 
Jonathan  turned  not  back,  and  the  sword  of  Saul 
returned   not  empty.     Saul  and  Jonathan  were 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  273 

lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives,  and  in  their 
death  they  were  not  divided ;  they  were  swifter 
than  eagles,  they  were  stronger  than  lions.     ^     ^ 

"  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of 
the  battle !  Jonathan  is  slain  upon  thy  high 
places.  I  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother 
Jonathan:  very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  unto  me : 
thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful,  passing  the  love 
of  women.  How  are  the  mighty  fallen,  and  the 
weapons  of  war  perished  !  "  The  sorrow,  the 
deep,  the  almost  inexpressible  sorrow,  which  this 
man  felt  for  his  dead  friend,  do  we  feel  for  this 
great  man,  who  has  now  passed  beyond  our  ken, 
"  into  the  silent  land,  into  the  land  of  the  great 
departed." 

Our  purpose  this  morning,  however,  is  not  to 
use  this  occasion  to  pour  out  our  lamentations, 
but  rather  to  look  back  over  that  remarkable 
career,  covering  a  period  of  nearly  eight  decades, 
with  the  view  of  forming  some  estimate  of  the 
man,  of  the  debt  we  owe  him,  and  of  getting  from 
his  life  courage  and  inspiration  for  the  future. 

I.    AS    TO    THE    MAN. 

By  nature  he  was  cast  in  a  great  mold, — 
physically,  intellectually,  and  morally.  Physically^ 
what  a  splendid  specimen  of  a  man  he  was, — tall, 
erect,  massive,  and  yet  moving  with  the  grace 
and   agility   of    an    Apollo.      How    Phidias    or 

18 


2  74      LIFE  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

Michael  Angelo  would  have  delighted  to  carve 
in  marble  or  to  cast  in  bronze  that  noble  form 
and  figure.  It  was  always  a  pleasure  to  me  just 
to  look  at  him.  His  presence  affected  me  like 
some  of  the  passages  of  rugged  grandeur  in 
Milton,  or  as  the  sight  of  Mont  Blanc,  rising  from 
the  vale  of  Chamouni,  affected  Coleridge,  when 
for  the  first  time  he  looked  upon  that  magnificent 
scene.  I  think  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him 
ielt  the  spell  of  his  splendid  presence.  The  older 
he  grew,  the  whiter  his  locks  became,  the  more 
striking  was  his  appearance,  and  more  and  more 
did  he  attract  attention  wherever  he  appeared, 
whether  in  our  streets  or  in  our  public  assem- 
blies. I  was  never  more  impressed  with  this  fact 
than  at  the  great  Columbian  Exposition  in 
Chicago.  One  morning  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
going  with  him  to  the  art  gallery.  There  were 
several  things  that  he  wanted  to  show  me,  he 
said.  The  first  thing  we  stopped  before  was 
a  piece  of  statuary — "  Lincoln  Dying."  We  had 
been  standing  but  a  few  moments  before  a  great 
crowd  gathered  about  us.  I  was  absorbed  in 
what  he  was  saying  and  did  not  at  first  notice 
it,  but  he  took  in  the  situation  at  once, — it  was 
an  old  story  to  him, — and  said,  "  Well,  they  have 
come,  let  us  pass  on."  And  wherever  he  went 
in  the  building  the  same  thing  was  repeated.  It 
seemed  to  me  as  if  nearly  everybody  knew  him  ; 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  275 

but  even  people  to  whom  he  was  entirely  un- 
known were  quickly  attracted  by  his  remarkable 
appearance. 

Intellectually,  what  a  splendid  specimen  of  a 
man  he  was !  His  intellect  was  of  a  very  high 
order.  He  possessed  a  mind  of  remarkable  acute- 
ness  and  penetration,  and  of  great  philosophical 
grasp.  It  vvas  wonderful,  how  readily  he  resolved 
effects  into  their  causes,  and  with  what  ease  he  got 
down  to  the  underlying  facts  and  principles  of 
whatever  subject  he  attempted  to  treat.  Hence, 
he  was  always  a  formidable  antagonist  to  en- 
counter. No  man  ever  crossed  swords  with  him 
who  was  not  forced  to  acknowledge,  even  when 
he  did  not  agree  with  him,  his  transcendent  abil- 
ity. He  had  the  faculty  of  seeing  at  a  glance 
the  weak  points  in  an  opponent's  position,  and 
with  the  skill  of  a  trained  dialectician  knew  how 
to  m.arshal  all  the  forces  at  his  command,  in  the 
form  of  facts  and  principles,  in  refutation  of  the 
same.  It  was  to  me  a  constant  delight  to  wit- 
ness the  play  of  his  remarkable  powers  of  mind, 
as  they  came  out  in  his  great  speeches  and  pub- 
lished articles.  He  had  a  strong,  mighty  intel- 
lect. They  called  him  the  Sage  of  Anacostia: 
and  so  he  was,— all  that  that  term  implies, — wise, 
thoughtful,  sound  of  judgment,  discriminating, 
far  seeinor. 

Morally,  what  a  splendid  specimen   of   a   man 


276  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

he  was, — lofty  in  sentiment,  pure  in  thought, 
exalted  in  character.  Upon  the  loftiest  plane 
of  a  pure  and  noble  manhood  he  lived  and 
moved.  No  one  need  ever  be  ashamed  to  call 
his  name.  There  he  stands,  in  the  serene, 
beautiful  white  lis^ht  of  a  virtuous  manhood. 
For  more  than  fifty  years  he  has  been  be- 
fore the  public,  not  infrequently  during  that 
time  the  object  of  the  bitterest  hatred,  and  yet 
during  all  these  years,  in  the  face  of  the  strongest 
opposition,  with  the  worst  passions  arrayed 
against  him,  no  one  has  dared  even  to  whisper 
anything  derogatory  of  him,  or  in  any  way  re- 
flecting upon  the  purity  of  his  life,  or  upon  the 
honesty  and  integrity  of  his  character.  There 
have  been  among  us,  in  the  past  history  of  our 
race,  men  who  were  richly  endowed  intellectu- 
ally, and  who  like  him  also  possessed  that  rarest 
of  gifts,  the  mighty  gift  of  eloquence — men  who 
could  hold  entranced  great  audiences  by  the 
hour,  the  fame  of  whose  eloquence  has  come 
down  to  us ;  but  when  you  have  said  that  of 
them  you  have  said  all.  Beyond  that  you  dare 
not  go.  When  it  comes  to  character,  which  in- 
finitely transcends  all  mere  intellectual  endow- 
ments, or  even  the  gift  of  eloquence,  we  are 
obliged  to  hang  our  heads  and  remain  silent,  or 
go  backwards  and  cover  their  shame  ;  but  not  so 
here.     No  one  need  ever  hang  his  head  when  the 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  277 

name  of  Frederick  Douglass  is  mentioned,  or  feel 
the  necessity  of  silence.  No  man  need  ever  go 
backward  to  cover  anything  in  his  life.  There  is 
the  record,  covering  a  period  of  more  than  fifty 
years,  read  it,  and  put  your  hand  upon  anything  in 
it,  if  you  can.  Character,  character,  has  been  one 
of  the  things  that  his  name  has  always  stood  for. 
Physically  he  was  great,  intellectually  he  was 
great,  and  morally  he  was  great.  Had  he  not 
been,  whatever  may  have  been  his  other  gifts  and 
graces  he  never  could  have  risen  to  the  place  of 
power  and  influence  which  for  more  than  a  gen- 
eration he  has  occupied.  He  never  could  have 
won  for  himself  the  universal  respect  in  which  he 
is  held  to-day.  Had  he  not  been  sound  morally, 
we  should  not  be  here  to-day  to  say  what  we  are 
saying,  nor  would  any  such  gathering  as  assem- 
bled in  this  city  a  week  ago  last  Monday,  to  pay 
the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory,  have 
been  witnessed.  It  was  because,  in  addition  to 
the  admiration  which  all  felt  for  his  transcendent 
intellectual  endowments,  and  his  marvelous  elo- 
quence, there  was  the  conviction  that  back  of, 
and  beyond,  and  above  all  these,  there  was  a  pure 
and  exalted  manhood.  It  was  because  we  could 
say  of  him  as  Mark  Anton}^  said  of  Brutus, — 

"  His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements 
So  mix'd  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up,. 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  This  was  a  man." 


2y8  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

One  of  the  things  that  I  am  especially  proud 
of  to-day  is  that  this  greatest  representative  that 
our  race  has  yet  produced,  was  a  pure  man,  a  man 
of  unblemished  reputation,  a  man  of  sterling  integ- 
rity of  character,  whose  example  we  can  com- 
mend to  our  children,  and  to  the  generations  that 
are  yet  to  come. 

Let  us  make  much  of  this,  and  let  the  fiat  go 
forth,  let  it  ring  out  from  every  pulpit,  and  from 
every  schoolhouse,  from  every  hilltop  and  from 
every  valley,  that  any  man  who  aspires  to  leader- 
ship among  us  must  be  pure.  In  the  presence 
of  the  splendid  record  that  is  before  me,  with  the 
full  knowledge  of  what  this  man  was,  of  what  his 
sentiments  were,  I  stand  here  to-day  and,  in  the 
name  of  Frederick  Douglass,  I  say  to  this  black 
race,  all  over  this  country,  Stand  up  for  a  pure 
leadership  ;  honor  the  men,  and  the  men  only, 
whose  character  you  can  respect,  and  whose  ex- 
ample you  can  commend  to  your  children. 

"  God  give  us  men, — 
Men  whom  the  lust  of  office  does  not  kill, 
Men  whom  the  spoils  of  office  cannot  buy, 
Men  who  possess  opinions  and  a  will, 
Men  who  have  honor,  men  who  will  not  lie  ; 
Tall  men,  sun-crowned,  who  live  above  the  fog 
In  public  duty,  and  in  private  thinking." 

And  such  was  the  great  man  whose  memory 
we  honor  to-dav. 


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LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  279 

"  Beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth,  is  Mount  Zion,"  is  what  the  Psalmist  wrote 
as  he  looked  out  upon  the  Holy  City,  and  so  we 
feel  to-day,  as  we  look  upon  this  man,  that  there  is 
a  beauty,  a  moral  beauty,  in  that  life,  that  is  to  us, 
and  will  remain  to  us,  a  joy  forever. 

In  attempting  to  analyze  this  life,  with  a  view 
of  forming  some  estimate  of  it,  there  are  several 
things  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  —  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  it  began,  the  obstacles 
it  had  to  contend  with,  and  what  it  became. 

As  to  the  circumstances  under  which  he  was 
born.  These  may  be  briefly  set  forth  in  two 
statements,  —  (i)  He  was  born  a  colored  man; 
he  was  identified  with  a  despised  race, —  a  race 
that  had  no  rights  which  white  men  were  bound 
to  respect.  The  condition  of  the  colored  people 
in  this  country,  —  even  the  free  colored  people, 
— eighty  years  ago,  was  sad,  inexpressibly  sad. 
There  was  not  even  a  glimmer  of  light  on  the 
horizon.  All  was  dark,  gloomy,  and  discourag- 
ing. (2)  He  was  born  a  slave,  a  piece  of  prop- 
erty, a  chattel,  a  thing  to  be  bought  and  sold,  to 
be  cuffed  and  kicked  about  at  the  will  of  another. 

The  fundamental  assumption  underlying  the 
system  of  slavery  was  the  supposed  inferiority  of 
the  negro, —  the  natural,  inherent,  God-ordained 
inferiority.  Its  great  aim  was  to  crush  out  of 
him  every  noble  aspiration,  to  degrade  him  to  the 


28o  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

level  of  the  brute,  and  make  him  a  mere  beast  of 
burden.  Hence  it  made  it  a  crime  for  him  to 
learn  to  read  and  write,  almost  to  think.  He  was 
to  have  no  views  or  opinions  of  his  own.  He 
was  simply  to  reflect  those  of  others,  to  be 
obedient  to  the  mandates  of  the  master.  Its 
whole  code  of  ethics  was  summed  up  in  the 
injunction,  "  Servants,  obey  your  masters."  This 
man  was  born  under  this  accursed  system,  a 
system  which  entirely  ignored  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  man,  or  that  he  had  the  right  to  exercise 
any  of  the  prerogatives  of  a  man.  This  was  not 
only  the  prevailing  sentiment  in  the  South,  it  was 
largely  the  prevailing  sentiment  in  the  North. 
Church  and  state  were  alike  in  league  with  the 
South  against  the  negro.  Almost  the  entire 
North  was  pro-slavery.  It  was  worth  almost  a 
man's  life  to  say  a  word  against  the  slave  power. 
It  was  in  Boston,  the  Cradle  of  Liberty,  that 
Garrison  was  dragged  through  the  streets  by  a 
"  broadcloth  mob."  It  was  in  the  state  of  Connec- 
ticut that  Prudence  Crandall's  school  was 
destroyed  because  she  dared  to  admit  colored 
pupils.  What  Theodore  Parker  said  in  his  great 
sermon,  entitled  "  The  True  Idea  of  a  Christian 
Church,"  perfectly  reflects  the  then  existing  sen- 
timent of  the  North :  "Are  there  not  three  mil- 
lion brothers  of  yours  and  mine  in  bondage  here, 
the  hopeless  sufferers  of  a  savage  doom ;  debarred 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  28 1 

from  the  civilization  of  our  age,  the  barbarians 
of  the  nineteenth  century;  shut  out  from  the 
pretended  religion  of  Christendom,  the  heathens 
of  a  Christian  land ;  chained  down  from  the  lib- 
erty unalienable  in  man,  the  slaves  of  a  Christian 
republic  ?  Does  not  a  cry  of  indignation  ring 
out  from  every  legislature  in  the  North  ;  does  not 
the  press  war  with  its  million  throats,  and  a  voice 
of  indignation  go  up  from  East  and  West,  out 
from  the  hearts  of  freemen  ?  Oh,  no!  There 
is  none  of  that  cry  against  the  mightiest  sin  of 
this  age.  The  rock  of  Plymouth,  sanctified  by 
the  feet  which  led  a  nation's  way  to  freedom's 
large  estate,  provokes  no  more  voice  than  the 
rottenest  stone  in  all  the  mountains  of  the  West. 
The  few  that  speak  a  manly  word  for  truth  and 
everlasting  right  are  called  fanatics ;  bid  be  still, 
lest  they  spoil  the  market.  Great  God !  and  has 
it  come  to  this,  that  men  are  silent  over  such  a 
sin }  'Tis  even  so.  Then  it  must  be  that  every 
church  which  dares  assume  the  name  of  Christ, 
that  dearest  name  to  men,  thunders  and  lightens 
on  this  hideous  wrong.  That  is  not  so.  The 
church  is  dumb,  while  the  state  is  only  silent ; 
while  the  servants  of  the  people  are  only  asleep, 
^  God's  ministers  '  are  dead." 

Such  were  the  conditions  under  which  this  man 
was  born,  and  such  were  the  adverse  circum- 
stances ao^ainst  which  he  had  to  contend. 


282  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

In  looking  back  over  this  life,  in  studying  it 
carefully,  as  he  himself  has  written  it  out,  the  first 
thing  that  impresses  us,  and  that  gives  promise 
that  something  may  yet  come  out  of  it,  is  his 
rebellion  against  this  system  under  which  he  was 
born.  It  asserted  his  inferiority,  it  declared  that 
he  was  created  simply  for  the  convenience  and 
the  pleasure  of  others.  This,  in  his  inmost  soul, 
he  branded  as  a  lie.  Slave  though  he  was,  there 
came  welling  up  into  his  soul  the  conviction  that 
he  was  a  man.  And  with  that  conviction  its 
necessary  corollary,  that,  being  a  man,  he  ought  to 
be  free.  Byron,  in  his  Prisoner  of  Chillon,  speaks 
of  the  "eternal  spirit  of  the  chainless  mind," 
and  it  was  this  spirit  that  came  into  his  soul,  and 
that  came  there  never,  never  to  be  extinguished. 
The  consciousness,  I  am  a  man,  I  ought  to  be 
free,  are  the  first  two  steps  in  the  progress  of  this 
life  upwards. 

A  third  step  was  soon  taken,  when  he  pleaded 
with  his  mistress  for  the  privilege  of  learning  to 
read,  and  by  her  assistance  mastered  the  alphabet, 
thereby  getting  hold  of  the  key  which  was  to 
unlock  to  him  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and 
knov\^ledge.  One  of  the  most  pathetic  things  in 
this  history  is  the  eagerness,  the  avidity,  with 
w^hich  this  little  slave  boy  appropriated  the 
crumbs  of  knowledge  that  lay  about  him.  In 
imagination,  I  can  see  him  now,  with  his  spelling 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  283 

book  concealed  under  his  coat,  pressing  into  his 
service  his  Httle  white  play  fellows  whom  he  met 
along  the  streets,  as  he  v/as  sent  on  errands  or 
during  his  hours  of  play, — making  them  his 
teachers.  The  spirit  of  liberty  is  not  only  stirring 
in  this  boy's  breast,  but  a  thirst  for  knowledge  is 
also  taking  possession  of  him.  The  immortal 
mind,  that  marvelous  thing  we  call  the  intellect, 
is  beginning  to  work.  The  alphabet  is  soon  mas- 
tered, the  ability  to  read  is  soon  acquired,  and 
one  book,  at  least,  comes  into  his  possession,  the 
"Columbian  Orator,"  from  which  he  drank  in 
great  draughts  of  the  bracing  air  of  liberty,  as  he 
studied  the  utterances  of  such  m.en-  as  Chatham, 
Fox,  Pitt,  and  others.  Thus  his  ideas  Vvxre 
enlarged  and  his  desire  to  be  free  greatly  stim- 
ulated. The  truth  of  what  his  master  had  said 
to  his  mistress,  when  forbidding  her  to  continue 
to  instruct  him,  "  Learning  will  do  him  no  good, 
but  a  great  deal  of  harm,  making  him  discon- 
solate and  unhappy,"  he  began  now  keenly  to 
realize  :  for  he  became  more  dissatisfied  with  his 
condition  than  ever. 

In  this  frame  of  mind  a  fourth  step  soon  fol- 
lowed— the  solemn  purpose  and  determination  to 
be  free  was  formed.  It  was  the  natural  and  lo^- 
ical  outcome  of  what  had  gone  before.  I  am  a 
man.  I  ought  to  be  free.  I  will  be  free.  Gar- 
rison said,  "  I  am  in  earnest.     I  will  not  excuse. 


284  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

I  will  not  equivocate.  I  will  not  retreat  a  single 
inch,  and  I  will  be  heard."  And  in  the  same 
spirit  this  man  says,  "  I  will  be  free."  No 
emancipation  proclamation,  no  stroke  of  the  pen 
of  the  immortal  Lincoln,  gave  freedom  to  him. 
He  wrote  his  own  emancipation  proclamation ; 
he  struck  with  his  owm  hands  the  fetters  from 
his  limbs.  On  the  third  day  of  September,  1838, 
he  turned  his  back  forever  upon  slavery  and 
quietly  settled  down  in  the  town  of  New  Bed- 
ford, Massachusetts,  where  he  labored,  putting 
in  coal,  digging  cellars,  working  on  the  wharves, 
and  doing  whatever  he  could  get  to  do 
that  was  honorable,  in  order  to  make  an 
honest  living  for  himself  and  his  family.  Let 
our  young  people  take  note  of  that :  it  may 
give  them  a  hint  or  suggestion  that  may  be 
of  service  to  them  in  the  future.  This  man  was 
not  ashamed  of  w^ork.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  think 
of  him  as  putting  in  coal,  digging  cellars,  and 
working  as  a  common  laborer  on  the  wharves ; 
and  yet  he  did,  and  was  not  ashamed  of  it  either. 
All  honest  toil  was  honorable  in  his  estimation. 
In  his  new  environments,  in  order  to  keep  from 
starving,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  work,  and 
he  did  work,  and  work  hard.  He  did  not  forget, 
however,  in  the  midst  of  his  struggles  to  keep 
soul  and  body  together,  that  he  also  had  a  mind 
which  needed  to  be  fed.     He  still  had  a  desire  to 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  285 

improve  himself,  the  old  love  for  knowledge  still 
burned  within  him.  And  hence  all  the  leisure 
he  could  commiand  he  gave  to  the  cultivation  of 
his  mind.  He  read  books,  and  he  read  the  news- 
papers, especially  that  great  fountain  head  of 
antislavery  thought  and  sentiment, —  The  Liber- 
ator. This  paper  he  read  carefully,  week  by 
week,  as  it  came  out,  with  ever  increasing  inter- 
est and  profit.  And  so  things  went  on  until 
1 84 1,  when  quite  unexpectedly  to  himself,  and 
only  three  years  after  his  escape  from  slavery,  he 
loomed  into  notice,  and  then  began  that  marvel- 
ous career  which  ended  only  tvv^o  weeks  ago  last 
Wednesday.  Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  in  the 
short  space  of  nine  years  from  his  escape  he  was 
lecturing  to  great  audiences,  both  in  this  country 
and  in  England,  captivating  them  by  the  magic 
of  his  eloquence,  and  by  his  masterly  appeals  in 
behalf  of  his  enslaved  brethren,  and  was  also  the 
editor  of  a  paper  which  took  rank  with  such 
papers  as  The  Liberator,  The  Anti-Slavery 
Standard,  and  others.  The  most  wonderful 
thing  about  it  all  is,  not  that  he  was  able  to  talk 
to  great  audiences  and  edit  a  paper,  but  that  he 
was  able  to  do  these  things  so  well.  Men  heard 
him  with  astonishment,  questioned,  even  doubted, 
the  truth  of  his  story,  wondered  whether  his 
speeches  and  editorials  were  not  written  for  him. 
It  seemed  incredible  to  them  that  he  could  ever 


286  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

have  been  a  slave,  or  that  he  had  so  recently  made 
his  escape,  or  that  he  had  had  no  educational 
advantages.  Some  said  right  out  that  they  did 
not  believe  it.  Either  they  must  deny  his  story, 
or  else  admit  that  he  was  a  prodigy.  And  this 
they  were  not  ready  to  do.  Even  many  who 
wevQ  disposed  to  be  friendly  were  not  quite  pre- 
pared at  that  time  to  concede  the  possibility  of  a 
negro  prodigy.  Their  doubts  did  not  deter  him, 
however.  While  they  were  puzzling  their  brains 
and  philosophizing  about  him  he  moved  steadily 
on.  Day  by  day  he  continued  to  grow,  to  ex- 
pand, to  develop.  More  and  more  did  he  attract 
attention,  and  more  and  more  did  he  make  his 
influence  felt.  It  was  not  long  before  he  won 
his  way  to  the  very  front  rank  and  took  his  place 
by  the  side  of  the  greatest  of  the  antislavery 
leaders.  Fifty-five  years  ago  this  man  was  un- 
known save  to  a  few  in  the  town  of  New  Bed- 
ford. To-day  he  is  known  everywhere.  Fifty- 
five  years  ago  the  name  of  Frederick  Douglass 
was  no  more  than  any  other  name ;  to-day  it  is 
cue  of  earth's  honored  names.  On  Wednesday, 
February  20,  when  he  passed  away,  the  whole 
civilized  world  took  note  of  it,  and  acknowledged 
that  one  of  earth's  great  men  had  fallen. 

T/ie  Star  of  this  city,  in  commenting  on  his 
death,  says:  "Of  remarkable  men  this  coun- 
try has  produced,  at  least,  its  quota,  and  among 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  287 

those  whose  title  to  eminence  may  not  be  dis- 
puted the  figure  of  Frederick  Douglass  is 
properly  conspicuous.  Born  into  captivity  and 
constrained  for  years  by  anti-educational  environ- 
ment he  nevertheless  achieved  greatness  such  as 
rewards  the  conscientious  efforts  of  but  few." 

The  Philadelphia  Press  says  :  "  The  death  of 
Frederick  Douglass  has  been  followed  by  wide 
public  notice  of  the  honors  he  has  received,  the 
consideration  with  which  he  has  been  treated, 
and  the  positions  he  has  filled.  But  it  is  worth 
while  remembering,  in  the  interest  of  justice  and 
equality, — twin  duties  of  the  Republic, — that 
these  honors  and  this  consideration  were  both 
infinitely  less  than  he  would  have  received  in 
any  other  civilized  country  in  the  world." 

An  ex-editor  in  the  Philadelphia /;2^2^2>^r says  : 
"  That  the  v/hirligig  of  time  brings  its  revenges 
was  never  better  illustrated  than  in  the  death 
columns  of  the  newspapers  yesterday.  In  one 
column  imposing  headlines  announced  the  de- 
mise of  Frederick  Douglass,  ex-slave,  of  Talbot 
county,  Maryland.  In  another  two  lines  served 
to  chronicle  the  death  of  the  last  Charles  Carroll 
of  Carrollton.  The  latter  inherited  great  Vv^ealth 
and  a  proud  name  in  American  annals.  The 
other  was  born  a  piece  of  animated  chattels,  with- 
out a  name,  taking  the  proud  one  of  the  master 
that  owned  him,   and    afterwards    discardino-    it 


288  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

for  that  of  Douglass,  with  a  double  '  s.'  The 
one  came  from  an  ancestor  who  signed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  other  left 
children  and  grandchildren  who  are  proud  to 
claim  him  as  an  ancestor  who  helped  to  make 
possible  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation. 
These  are  our  two  great  charters  of  liberty. 
When  history  makes  its  final  award  it  will  not 
give  a  higher  place  to  Charles  Carroll  of  Carroll- 
ton,  for  that  Magna  Charta  that  left  the  black 
man  enslaved,  than  to  Frederick  Douglass  for 
the  labors  of  a  lifetime  in  securing  that  other, 
which  washed  out  the  blot  in  the  'scutcheon  of 
the  nation.  It  was  an  unconscious  realization  of 
the  platitude  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
that  all  men  are  created  equal,  so  long  a  mockery 
where  all  men  were  not  free,  that  the  newspapers 
should  almost  overlook  the  descendant  of  the 
*  signer '  in  paying  an  obituary  tribute  to  the 
slave-born  hero,  who  earned  a  renown  greater 
than  ancestry  ever  conferred." 

The  Philadelphia  Record  says :  "  Frederick 
Dousflass  was  the  most  famous  citizen  of  Wash- 
ington.  No  other  Washingtonian,  white  or 
black,  has  the  world-wide  reputation  that  he  had. 
Indeed,  when  you  stop  to  think  of  it,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  name  any  other  man,  white  or  black, 
in  the  whole  country  who  would  be  as  well  known 
as   Frederick   Douglass   in   every  corner  of  the 


I 

^^v.. 

1 

IX.  Ar" 

^ 

fe:   ^....b.« 

««»B 

Miis.  Amy  Post.— The  old  associate  of  llie  late  Frederick  Douglass, 
whose  cellar  was  used  as  the  famous  underground  railway. 


Major  F.  S.  Ci  nxingham.— Who  was  miiinately  associated  with 

Douglass,  and  who  fonght  in  the  same  regiment  with 

the  dead  statesman's  sons. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  289 

world.  Lincoln  and  Grant  were  such  men,  but 
I  cannot  think  of  anyone  now,  except  President 
Cleveland  and  ex- President  Harrison,  who  are 
ex  officio,  so  to  speak,  our  world-wide  celebrities. 
Dr.  Holmes  was  the  last  of  our  men  of  letters 
who  had  this  world-wide  fame,  and  no  other  class 
of  men  or  of  women  seems  to  have  produced  an 
international  character  in  our  time.  Our  great 
lawyers  are  perhaps  known  by  lawyers  the  world 
over;  our  great  physicians  by  physicians,  clergy- 
men by  clergymen,  journalists  by  journalists, 
business  men  by  business  men,  and  so  on;  but 
where  is  the  man  or  woman  who  is  known  in  all 
countries  by  people  of  all  classes  ?  "  These  are 
but  samples  of  the  many  comments  which  his 
death  called  forth. 

There  have  been  other  men  in  the  history  of 
our  country  who  have  risen  from  humble  begin- 
nings to  places  of  power  and  influence.  Lincoln 
v^ras  a  rail  splitter,  Grant  was  a  tanner,  Garfield 
was  a  canal  driver.  These  men  had  no  such  ob- 
stacles to  overcome,  however,  as  this  man  had. 
They  were  not  identified  with  a  despised  race. 
They  were  not  born  slaves.  Public  sentiment 
was  not  against  them.  The  schools  and  colleges 
of  the  land  were  not  closed  to  them.  Every 
avenue  was  open  to  them.  In  his  case,  however, 
the  very  reverse  was  true.  And  yet,  in  spite  of 
his  environments,  with  everything  to  discourage 

19 


290  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

him,  with  obstacles  hke  mountains  rising  before 
him  at  every  step,  by  the  sheer  force  of  his  char- 
acter, by  almost  superhuman  efforts, — for  it 
seems  almost  like  a  miracle  now  as  we  look  back 
over  that  life, — 

"  On  with  toil  of  heart  and  knees  and  hands, 
Through  the  long  gorge  to  the  far  light  he  won 
His  way  upward," 

to  a  place  by  their  side.  And  there  he  stands 
and  will  stand;  not  by  sufferance,  either,  but  by 
right.  Indeed,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances, 
when  we  remember  where  he  began  and  where 
he  ended,  what  his  environments  were,  and  what 
he  became,  he  is,  it  seems  to  me,  the  most  con- 
spicuous and  shining  example  of  the  century  of 
what  ability,  and  pluck,  and  character,  and  hard 
work  can  do  to  carve  out  a  great  and  honorable 
career,  in  spite  of  adverse  circumstances.  His 
example  stands  colossal,  to  borrow  an  expression 
from  Tennyson,  yes,  that  is  the  only  word  that 
expresses  it,  colossal. 

Notice  in  the  second  place,  if  you  please,  the 
debt  we  owe  this  man.  Why  should  we,  as  a 
race,  honor  the  memorv  of  Frederick  Dousrlass  ? 

'  >  CD 

What  has  he  been  to  us  ?  What  has  he  done 
for  us  ?  It  is  impossible  fully  to  estimate  his 
services ;  nor  shall  I  attempt  in  the  limited  time 
that  is  at  my  command  this  morning  to  do  so. 
A  few  things  may  be  said,  however,  that  will 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  29 1 

enable  us,  in  a  measure   at   least,  to  approximate 
the  greatness  of  these  services. 

In  the  first  place,  he  consecrated  to  the  welfare 
of  this  race,  his  splendid  oratory.  Who  that  ever 
heard  him  can  ever  forget  ?  Which  of  us  has  not 
felt  the  thrill  of  his  mao^netic  utterances  ?  And 
they  tell  us  that  he  was  nothing  in  his  later  days 
to  what  he  used  to  be  in  the  prime  of  his  splen- 
did manhood.  This  tongue  of  fiery  eloquence 
he  gave  to  this  race ;  and  who  can  estimate  the 
influence  of  that  voice  as  it  rang  out  in  every  part 
of  this  country,  in  behalf  of  his  oppressed  and 
enslaved  brethren  ?  Wherever  he  went  he  at- 
tracted great  audiences.  In  1852,  at  a  meeting 
in  one  of  the  large  halls  in  Philadelphia,  he  spoke 
for  two  hours  to  an  audience  which  filled  every 
seat,  and  packed  the  aisles.  Ten  o'clock  came, 
and  he  stopped,  amid  cries  of  "  Go  on,  go  on." 
He  stopped  and  said,  "  I  don't  often  have  the 
chance  to  talk  to  such  an  audience  of  friends. 
You  who  are  standing  are  certainly  w^earied.  We 
will  take  a  five  minutes'  recess,  and  allow  anyone 
to  retire  who  wishes  to  do  so."  The  time  was 
up,  and  he  spoke  for  another  hour  and  a  quarter, 
and  not  a  man  or  woman  left.  Three  hours  and 
a  quarter  is  a  long  time  to  sit  and  listen,  much 
more  to  stand,  and  yet  such  was  the  power  of  his 
eloquence,  that  men  forgot  that  they  were  stand- 
ing, and  ceased  to  take  note  of  the  time. 


292  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

A  writer  in  the  New  York  Eva7tgelist  describes 
a  scene  which  took  place  in  that  city,  and  which 
will  give  us  some  idea  of  what  the  effect  of  this 
man  was,  as  he  went  from  place  to  place,  a  living 
protest  against  the  barbarism  of  slavery.  He 
says  :  "  When  Anthony  Burns  was  taken  by  slave 
hunters  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  and  Dred  Scott 
was  handed  over  in  Missouri  to  his  captors  by  a 
Supreme  Court  decision,  the  end  of  forbearance 
had  come,  the  limit  of  endurance  was  passed,  the 
slave  power  had  humiliated  the  nation.  In  those 
days  it  was  necessary  for  politicians  to  '  trim 
ship '  with  extraordinary  vigilance  and  adroit- 
ness. To  them  Douglass  seemed  a  specter  of 
defeat.  If  he  lifted  those  once  manacled  arms 
before  the  people,  even  before  they  caught  the 
tremulous  tones  of  his  magical  voice,  they  were 
swayed  by  uncontrollable  emotion.  Once  in  the 
old  Broadway  Tabernacle,  filled  up  to  the  dome,  as 
Douglass  was  announced,  the  vast  crowd  sprang 
up  as  one  man,  and  the  Marseillaise  Hymn,  with  a 
refrain,  '  Free  soil,  free  speech,  free  press,  free 
men,'  rolled  out  through  doors  and  windows, 
blockino:  the  street  with  lino-erinQ-  listeners  for  a 
hundred  yards  either  way.  Meanwhile  Douglass 
stood  with  bowed  head,  great  tears  coursing  down 
his  cheeks."  His  very  presence  was  often  more 
effective  than  the  eloquence  of  other  men. 

In  the  second  place,  he  consecrated  to  the  serv- 


LI^E  OF  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.       293 

ice  of  his  race  his  time  and  all  the  powers  of  his 
body  and  mind.  He  labored  incessantly.  He 
was  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season.  He 
worked  by  day  and  by  night.  He  was  at  it,  and 
always  at  it.  The  wonder  is  that  his  iron  consti- 
tution did  not  give  way.  He,  himself,  tells  us 
that  he  used  to  write  all  day,  and  then  take  the 
train  and  go  off  at  night  and  speak,  returning 
the  same  evening,  or  early  the  next  morning,  only 
to  resume  his  work  at  his  desk. 

In  addition  to  writing  and  speaking,  he  was 
also  an  active  agent  in  the  Underground  Rail- 
road, and  from  his  house  many  a  fugitive  crossed 
the  line  into  Canada.  He  labored  also  in  many 
other  ways. 

Some  men  have  said  Douglass  was  selfish,  that 
he  always  had  an  eye  to  his  ov/n  interest,  imply- 
ing that  it  was  not  the  race  that  he  was  thinking 
of  so  much  as  himself.  For  this  base  insinua- 
tion, for  that  is  the  only  term  which  properly 
characterizes  it,  I  have  only  the  utmost  contempt. 
When  I  think  of  how  richly  this  m.an  was  en- 
dowed, of  the  ereat  services  which  he  rendered 
to  freedom,  and  remember  that  his  salary  was 
only  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year  ;  when 
I  think  of  his  self-sacrificing  efforts  to  carry  on 
his  paper.  The  North  Star,  putting  every  cent 
that  he  could  into  it,  even  mortgaging  the  house 
over  his  head,  I  say  1  do  not  believe  it.     I  have 


294  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

read  his  life  carefully  and  I  have  had  the  honor 
of  knowing  him  intimately  for  a  number  of  years, 
and,  as  I  look  back  over  those  years,  I  can  recall 
nothing  that  would  in  any  way  justify  such  an 
accusation.  In  the  summary  which  he  gives  at 
the  close  of  Part  Second  of  his  life,  we  get  a  true 
insight  into  the  spirit  which  animated  him  dur- 
ing his  long  and  eventful  life,  as  well  as  the 
motives  which  prompted  him  to  make  a  record  of 
that  life.  He  says :  "  It  will  be  seen  in  these 
pages  that  I  have  lived  several  lives  in  one  :  first, 
the  life  of  slavery  ;  secondly,  the  life  of  a  fugitive 
from  slavery ;  thirdly,  the  life  of  comparative  free- 
dom ;  fourthly,  the  life  of  conflict  and  battle ; 
fifthly,  the  life  of  victory,  if  not  complete,  at  least 
assured.  To  those  who  have  suffered  in  slavery 
I  can  say,  I,  too,  have  suffered.  To  those  who 
have  taken  some  risks  and  encountered  hardships 
in  the  flight  from  bondage  I  can  say,  I,  too,  have 
endured  and  risked.  To  those  who  have  battled 
for  liberty,  brotherhood,  and  citizenship  I  can  say, 
I,  too,  have  battled.  And  to  those  who  have  lived 
to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  victory  I  can  say,  I,  too,  live 
and  rejoice.  If  I  have  pushed  my  example  too 
prominently  for  the  good  taste  of  my  Caucasian 
readers,  I  beg  them  to  remember,  that  I  have 
written  in  part  for  the  encouragement  of  a  class 
whose  aspirations  need  the  stimulus  of  success. 
"  I  have  aimed  to  show  them  that  knowledge 


^3 


Oi 


^^F^  c 


-^m 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  295 

can  be  obtained  under  difficulties;  that  poverty 
may  give  place  to  competency ;  that  obscurity  is 
not  an  absolute  bar  to  distinction,  and  that  a  way 
is  open  to  welfare  and  happiness  to  all  who  will 
resolutely  and  wisely  pursue  that  way ;  that 
neither  slavery,  stripes,  imprisonment,  nor  pro- 
scription need  extinguish  self-respect,  crush  manly 
ambition,  or  paralyze  effort ;  that  no  power  out- 
side of  himself  can  prevent  a  man  from  sustain- 
ing an  honorable  character  and  a  useful  relation 
to  his  day  and  generation ;  that  neither  institu- 
tions nor  friends  can  make  a  race  to  stand  unless 
it  has  strength  in  its  own  legs ;  that  there  is  no 
power  in  the  world  that  can  be  relied  upon  to 
help  the  weak  against  the  strong,  or  the  simple 
against  the  wise ;  that  races,  like  individuals, 
must  stand  or  fall  by  their  own  merits.  I  have 
urged  upon  them  self-reliance,  self-respect,  indus- 
try, perseverance,  and  economy.  Forty  years  of 
my  life  have  been  given  to  the  cause  of  my  peo- 
ple, and  if  I  had  forty  years  more  they  should  all 
be  sacredly  given  to  the  same  great  cause." 
There  is  not  a  taint  of  selfishness  there.  If  any 
man  ever  lived  who  carried  this  race  upon  his 
heart,  who  desired  to  see  it  succeed,  and  who 
labored  earnestly  for  its  freedom,  for  its  elevation, 
for  its  protection  under  the  laws,  and  in  order 
that  it  might  have  a  fair  chance  in  the  race  of 
life,  that  man  was  Frederick  Douglass.     He  loved 


296  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

this  race  with  all  the  depth  and  strength  of  his 
great  soul.  One  of  the  most  touching  things  I 
ever  heard  of  him  was  told  me  by  a  friend.  He 
happened  to  call  at  the  house  while  Mr.  Doug- 
lass was  preparing  his  great  speech  on  Southern. 
Outrages.  He  took  this  friend  into  his  study 
and  read  portions  of  that  speech,  and  when  he 
came  to  the  part  which  described  the  sufferings 
of  our  poor  brethren  in  the  South,  great  strong 
man  though  he  was,  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks 
and  choked  his  utterance  so  that  he  was  unable 
to  proceed.  Tell  me  that  this  man  was  selfish, 
that  he  was  thinking  only  of  himself  I  It  will  be 
a  long  time  before  this  black  race  will  have  an- 
other Douglass  to  lean  upon,  a  long  time  before 
it  will  find  another  man  to  carry  it  in  his  heart  of 
hearts  as  he  did.  "  Forty  years  of  my  life  I  have 
given  to  the  cause  of  my  people,  and  if  I  had 
forty  more  they  should  be  all  sacredly  given  to 
the  same  great  cause,"  is  not  the  utterance  of 
selfishness,  but  of  a  great  soul  whose  chief  desire 
was  the  good  of  his  people.  As  the  exiled  Jews 
felt  towards  the  Holy  City,  "  If  I  forget  thee,  O 
Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning. 
If  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  mv  tonsfue  cleave 
to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  I  prefer  not  Jerusa- 
lem above  my  chief  joy,''  so  felt  he  towards  this 
race.  It  was  ever  uppermost  in  his  thoughts; 
and  never  did  he  forget  it  for  a  moment. 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  297 

In  the  third  place,  it  was  due  largely  to  the  in- 
fluence of  Mr.  Douglass,  that  the  colored  man 
was  allowed  to  shoulder  his  musket  and  strike  a 
blow  for  his  own  freedom  and  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Union.  In  Chapter  Eleventh  of  his 
Life,  entitled,  "  Secession  and  War,"  he  says : 
"  When  the  government  persistently  refused  to 
employ  colored  troops ;  when  the  emancipation 
proclamation  of  General  John  C.  Fremont,  in 
Missouri,  was  withdrawn;  when  slaves  were  being 
returned  from  our  lines  to  their  masters ;  when 
Union  soldiers  were  stationed  about  the  farm- 
houses of  Virginia  to  guard  and  protect  the  mas- 
ter in  holding  his  slaves;  when  Union  soldiers 
made  themselves  more  active  in  kicking  colored 
men  out  of  their  camps  than  in  shooting  rebels; 
when  even  Mr.  Lincoln  could  tell  the  poor 
negro  that  '  he  was  the  cause  of  the  war,' — I  still 
believed,  and  spoke  as  I  believed,  all  over  the 
North,  that  the  mission  of  the  war  was  the  liber- 
ation of  the  slave,  as  well  as  the  salvation  of  the 
Union ;  and  hence  from  the  first  I  reproached 
the  North  that  they  fought  the  rebels  with  only 
one  hand,  when  they  might  strike  effectually 
with  two, — that  they  fought  with  their  soft  white 
hand,  while  they  kept  their  black  iron  hand 
chained  and  helpless  behind  them,  —  that  they 
fought  the  effect,  while  they  protected  the  cause, 
and  that  the  Union  cause  would  never  prosper 


298  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

till  the  war  assumed  an  antislavery  attitude  and 
the  negro  was  enlisted  on  the  loyal  side.  In 
every  way  possible, — in  the  columns  of  my  paper, 
and  on  the  platform,  in  my  letters  to  friends  at 
home  and  abroad, — I  did  all  that  I  could  to  im- 
press my  conviction  upon  this  country." 

And  when  the  general  government  finally 
came  to  its  senses,  and  Governor  Andrew  of 
Massachusetts  was  given  permission  to  raise  two 
colored  regiments,  it  was  through  the  columns  of 
his  paper  that  the  cry  rang  out,  "  Men  of  color, 
to  arms,  to  arms!  "  It  was  his  pen  that  wrote  the 
burning  words,  "  Liberty  won  by  white  men  would 
lose  half  its  luster.  Who  would  be  free,  them- 
selves must  strike  the  blow."  "  Better  even  die 
free  than  to  live  slaves."  "By  every  consideration 
which  binds  you  to  your  enslaved  fellow-country- 
men and  to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  your  coun- 
try; by  every  aspiration  which  you  cherish  for 
the  freedom  and  equality  of  yourselves  and  your 
children  ;  by  all  the  ties  of  blood  and  identity 
v/hich  make  us  one  with  the  brave  black  men 
now  fighting  our  battles  in  Louisiana  and  in 
South  Carolina, — I  urge  you  to  fly  to  arms,  and 
smite  with  death  the  power  that  v»'Ould  bury  the 
government  and  your  liberty  in  the  same  hope- 
less grave."  He  also  took  a  very  active  interest 
in  securing  just  and  fair  treatment  for  the  colored 
soldier,  after  his  services  were  accepted.     To  this 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  299 

end  he  not  only  wrote  and  spoke,  but  visited 
Washington,  and  had  an  interview  with  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  and  Secretary  Stanton,  in  which  he 
urged  "  the  right  of  the  colored  soldiers  to  receive 
the  same  wages  as  the  white  soldiers ;  the  right 
of  the  colored  soldier  to  receive  the  same  protec- 
tion when  taken  prisoner,  and  be  exchanged  as 
readily  and  on  the  same  terms  as  any  other  pris- 
oner; that  if  Jefferson  Davis  should  shoot  or 
hang  colored  soldiers  in  cold  blood,  the  United 
States  Government  should  without  delay  retali- 
ate in  kind  and  degree  upon  Confederate  pris- 
oners in  its  hands ;  and  that  when  colored  sol- 
diers performed  great  and  uncommon  services 
on  the  battlefield,  they  should  be  revv^arded  by 
distinctions  and  promotions  precisely  as  white 
soldiers  are  rewarded  for  like  services."  And  he 
never  ceased  to  press  this  matter  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  those  in  authority  until  the  end  he  aimed 
at  w^as  accomplished. 

In  the  fourth  place,  he  rendered  also  most  im- 
portant services  in  bringing  about  the  enfran- 
chisement of  the  race.  Even  Mr.  Garrison  and 
other  antislavery  leaders  questioned,  at  first,  the 
wisdom  of  such  a  step,  but  this  man  never 
doubted,  never  hesitated.  To  him  suffrage  was 
necessary  to  enable  the  negro  to  protect  himself, 
and  hence  to  it  he  addressed  himself  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  his   nature,   usinc^   all  the   means 


300  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

within  his  power  to  secure  it  for  him.  "  From 
the  first,"  he  says,  "  I  saw  no  chance  of  bettering 
the  condition  of  the  freedman  until  he  should 
cease  to  be  merely  a  freedman,  and  should  become 
a  citizen.  I  insisted  that  there  was  no  safety  for 
him  nor  for  anybody  else  in  America  outside  the 
American  government ;  that  to  guard,  protect, 
and  maintain  his  liberty  the  freedman  should  have 
the  ballot ;  that  the  liberties  of  the  American 
people  were  dependent  upon  the  ballot-box,  the 
jury-box,  and  the  cartridge-box ;  that  without 
these  no  class  of  people  could  live  and  flourish 
in  this  country;  and  this  was  now^  the  word  for 
the  hour  with  me,  and  the  word  to  which  the 
people  of  the  North  willingly  listened  w4ien  I 
spoke.  Hence,  regarding  as  I  did  the  elective 
franchise  as  the  one  great  power  by  which  all 
civil  rights  are  obtained,  enjoyed,  and  maintained 
under  our  form  of  government,  and  the  one  with- 
out which  freedom  to  any  class  is  delusive,  if  not 
impossible,  I  set  myself  to  work  with  w^hatever 
force  and  energy  I  possessed  to  secure  this  power 
for  the  recently  emancipated  millions."  With 
this  end  in  view,  in  company  with  other  gentle- 
men, he  brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  of 
President  Johnson,  and  the  next  morning  pub- 
lished a  letter  w^iich  was  very  widely  commented 
upon,  and  which  had  the  effect  of  bringing  the 
subject  prominently  before  the  country.     He  also 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  3OI 

spoke  very  earnestly  before  the  National  Loyal- 
ists' convention  which  met  in  Philadelphia  in 
September,  1866.  He  also  labored  personally 
with  many  senators  when  the  matter  was  before 
that  body,  visiting  them  daily,  and  pressing  upon 
them  the  necessity  and  the  justice  of  the  meas- 
ure. And  so  he  continued  to  work  until  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  enacted  into  law,  in 
the  form  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution. 

There  are  many  other  things  that  might  be 
mentioned  under  the  general  head  which  we  are 
considering,  but  the  time  will  not  permit.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say,  that  during  the  last  half  century 
there  has  been  no  measure  looking  to  the  better- 
ment of  our  condition  as  a  people  in  this  country 
in  which  he  has  not  been  a  leading  actor.  For 
more  than  fifty  years  he  has  allow^ed  no  opportu- 
nity to  pass  unimproved  in  which,  either  by  his 
voice  or  pen,  he  could  make  the  way  easier  and 
the  future  brighter  for  this  race.  Whenever  we 
have  needed  a  defender,  he  has  always  been  on 
hand.  Whenever  there  w^ere  rights  to  be  as- 
serted, he  has  always  stood  ready  to  make  the 
demand,  never  lagging  behind,  always  at  the 
front.  For  more  than  fifty  years  he  has  stood  as 
a  sentinel  on  the  watch-tower,  guarding  with  the 
most  jealous  care  the  interests  of  this  race.  I 
remember   when  he  was  appointed    minister  to 


302  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

Hayti.  I  did  not  want  him  to  go ;  I  wrote  him 
and  told  him  so,  and  told  him  why.  It  was 
because  I  felt  that  we  could  not  spare  him 
out  of  the  country.  It  seemed  to  me  that  our 
interests  would  not  be  quite  so  safe  if  he  were 
away.  The  very  fact  that  he  was  here  filled  me 
with  the  assurance  that  all  would  be  well.  And 
this  is  the  way,  I  think,  we  all  felt, — a  sense  of 
security  in  the  consciousness  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  in  our  midst. 

In  politics  he  was  a  Republican.  He  loved 
the  grand  old  party  of  Liberty,  —  but  when  it 
proved  recreant  to  its  trust,  when  it  was  ready 
to  sacrifice  the  negro,  to  trample  him  in  the 
dust,  to  push  him  aside  out  of  deference  to  pop- 
ular prejudice,  then  it  was  that  he  turned  upon 
it,  and  cauterized  it  with  actual  lightning.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  article  which  he  wrote  on 
the  reasons  for  the  defeat  of  the  Republican 
party,  which  was  published,  I  think,  in  Harper  s 
V/eekly.  It  was  a  masterly  arraignment  of  that 
party  for  its  cowardice  and  its  perfidy,  and  showed 
how  deeply  concerned  he  was  for  the  welfare  of 
this  race,  and  how  he  was  ever  looking  out  for  its 
interests.  In  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew,  Jesus  is  represented,  in  the 
great  day  of  solemn  account,  as  saying  to  those 
on  his  right  hand,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit    the  kingdom   prepared  for  you 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  303 

from  the  foundation  of  the  world :  for  I  was  an 
hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat:  I  was  thirsty,  and 
ye  gave  me  drink :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took 
me  in  :  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  :  I  was  sick,  and 
ye  visited  me  :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto 
me."  And  this  is  what  we  can  all  say  to-day,  as 
a  race,  as  we  think  of  this  man.  He  has  been 
a]l  that  is  here  implied  to  us.  In  our  distress 
and  suffering,  in  our  hours  of  loneliness  and 
despondency,  when  we  have  felt  discouraged  and 
sick  at  heart,  he  has  stood  by  us,  and  watched 
over  us,  and  ministered  to  our  necessities,  and 
cheered  us  by  his  voice  and  presence.  What  is 
it  that  he  hasn't  done  ?  In  what  way  has  he  not 
manifested  his  interest  ?  What  more  could  he 
have  done  than  he  has  done  ? 

There  are  many  other  things  that  I  should  like 
to  speak  of  had  I  the  time.  I  should  like  to 
speak  of  some  of  his  personal  traits  and  charac- 
teristics ;  of  his  gentleness,  his  symipathetic  nature, 
his  tenderness,  his  generosity,  his  great-hearted- 
ness. 

There  was  nothing  mean,  or  close-fisted,  or 
penurious  about  him.  God  blessed  him  with 
means,  and  he  used  it  for  the  glory  of  his  Maker, 
and  the  good  of  his  fellow-men.  He  was  all  the 
time  giving  to  some  good  cause,  or  reaching  out 
a  hand  to  help  the  needy.  We  went  to  him 
when  we  started  the  movement  for  the  purchase 


304  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

of  the  building  on  Eleventh  street,  for  the  use  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  which 
was  made  necessary  because  black  men  were 
shut  out  of  the  one  on  New  York  avenue,  — let 
it  be  said  to  its  shame ;  I  never  pass  that  build- 
ing and  look  up  at  the  name  inscribed  upon 
it, —  "  Christian  Association,"  —  without  feeling 
that  it  is  a  libel  upon  the  holy  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ.  As  wtII  write  it  over  the  portals  of  per- 
dition, as  there,  and  expect  me  to  believe  it.  It 
is  a  lie.  The  great  man  whom  we  honor  to-day 
utterly  loathed  the  spirit  which  made  such  a  lie 
possible,  and  which,  years  ago,  nearly  drove,  and 
to-day  is  driving,  some  of  our  most  gifted  men 
into  infidelity.  If  there  is  any  Christianity  there, 
it  is  a  spurious  Christianity.  It  is  not  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Bible.  There  was  no  color-phobia 
in  Christ ;  and  there  is  none  in  Christianity, 
whatever  may  be  the  practice  of  so-called  Chris- 
tian men  and  women. 

When  we  were  making  arrangements  to  pur- 
chase the  building  on  Eleventh  street,  as  I  have 
said,  in  company  with  the  International  Secre- 
tary, Mr.  Hunton,  we  called  upon  Mr.  Douglass, 
and  laid  the  matter  before  him.  He  listened  to 
us,  and  when  we  were  through  said,  "  Gentlemen, 
I  am  not  a  rich  man, — I  can't  give  you  as  large  a 
subscription  as  I  would  like  to  give,  but  I  will  give 
something.     Put  me  down  for  two  hundred  dol- 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  305 

lars."  And  that  is  but  a  sample  of  what  he  was- 
constantly  doing. 

Many  years  ago,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  before 
he  made  his  escape  from  slavery,  while  he  was 
working  in  one  of  the  ship-yards,  he  was  set  upon 
by  some  of  the  white  laborers,  mobbed,  dreadfully 
beaten,  and  came  very  near  losing  his  life.  The 
cry  was,  "  Kill  the  nigger."  Among  those  who 
took  up  that  cry,  and  who  tried  very  hard  to  kill 
him,  was  a  man  who  up  to  a  short  time  ago  was 
still  living  in  Baltimore.  He  was  then  old,  de- 
crepit, sick  and  in  great  destitution.  Mr.  Douglass 
heard  of  it,  called  upon  him,  spoke  kindly  to  him, 
and  in  parting  left  a  ten  dollar  bill  in  his  hand. 
It  was  a  beautiful  thing  for  him  to  do.  It  was  a 
noble  thing,  and  it  was  just  like  him.  He  was 
all  the  time  doing  noble  things.  God  bless  his 
memory,  and  give  us  more  men  like  him  ! 

I  might  also  speak  of  his  love  of  the  beautiful, 
in  art  and  in  nature.  At  the  great  Columbian 
Exposition,  the  Art  Gallery  was  a  constant  de- 
light to  him.  He  reveled  in  its  treasures.  And 
how  he  loved  all  nature, — the  flowers,  and  the 
grass,  and  the  trees,  and  the  birds,  and  the  drift- 
ing clouds,  and  the  blue  sky,  and  the  stars ;  he 
had  a  poet's  love  for  nature.  With  Wordsworth 
he  could  say, — 

"  To  me  the  meanest  flower  that  blows  can  give 
Thoughts  that  do  often  lie  too  deep  tor  tears." 
20 


306  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

How  often  have  I  heard  him  speak,  as  I  have 
sat  with  him  on  the  front  porch  of  his  beautiful 
home,  or  under  the  trees  on  the  hill-side,  with 
the  lovely  landscape  stretching  out  on  all  sides 
around  us, — of  the  pleasure  which  it  gave  him, 
the  satisfaction,  how  it  rested  him  to  commune 
with  nature. 

I  might  also  speak  of  his  love  of  music, — his 
passionate  love  of  music, — especially  the  music 
of  the  violin.  He  had  a  kind  of  reverence  for 
that  instrument.  It  seemed  to  him  almost  like  a 
living  thing.  How  lovingly  he  handled  it !  With 
what  enthusiasm  he  spoke  of  it !  He  could  hardly 
resist  the  temptation  of  speaking  to  a  man  who 
carried  a  violin.  He  used  to  say,  "  No  man  can 
be  an  enemy  of  mine  who  loves  the  violin."  He 
never  missed  an  opportunity  of  hearing  a  great 
violinist.  He  heard  them  all.  It  was  his  favor- 
ite instrument.  Not  even  Paganini  himself  had 
a  more  passionate  love  for  it.  He  delighted  also 
in  vocal  music,  especially  in  sacred  music, — in 
the  old  hymns  of  Zion  that  breathe  the  sentiment 
of  love,  of  trust,  and  of  hope.  One  of  his  favorite 
hymns  was  "  Jesus  my  Saviour  to  Bethlehem 
Came,"  with  the  refrain,  "  Seeking  for  Me." 

"  Oh,  it  was  wonderful,  blest  be  His  name, 
Seeking  for  me,  for  me." 

Another  was 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  307 

"  In  thy  cleft,  O  Rock  of  Ages, 
Hide  thou  me. 
When  the  fitful  tempest  rages. 

Hide  thou  me. 
Where  no  mortal  arm  can  sever 
From  my  heart  thy  love  forever. 
Hide  me,  O  thou  Rock  of  Ages, 
Safe  in  thee." 

That  hymn  I  shall  never  forget.  The  last  time 
it  was  my  privilege  to  be  at  his  house,  only  a  few 
weeks  before  he  passed  away,  after  dinner  was 
over  we  all  repaired  to  the  sitting  room,  and  he 
himself  suggested  that  we  should  have  some 
music.  His  grandson  Joseph  was  there,  and  we 
knew  therefore  that  there  was  a  rich  treat  in  store 
for  us.  We  had  music  on  the  piano,  and  music 
on  the  violin,  and  singing.  In  the  singing  he 
was  the  principal  figure.  Standing  in  the  door- 
way, between  the  sitting-room  and  the  hall,  with 
violin  in  hand,  he  struck  up  the  last  mentioned 
hymn,  "  In  thy  cleft,  O  Rock  of  Ages,"  and  sang 
it  through  to  the  very  end,  with  a  pathos  that 
moved  us  all.  We  all  spoke  of  it  afterwards.  It 
seemed  to  take  hold  of  him  so.  The  closing  lines, 
especially,  seemed  to  touch  the  great  deeps  of  his 
nature.  I  can  almost  hear  now  the  deep  mellow 
tones  of  that  voice,  and  feel  the  solemnity  that 
pervaded  the  room  as  he  sang  the  words, — 

"  In  the  sight  of  Jordan's  billow, 
.  Let  thy  bosom  be  my  pillow, 

Hide  me,  O  thou  Rock  of  Ages, 
Safe  in  thee," 


508  LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS. 

as  if  he  had  a  kind  of  presentiment  that  the  end 
was  near, — that  he  was  already  standing  on  the 
very  brink  of  that  Jordan  over  which  he  has  since 
passed,  and  over  which,  one  by  one,  we  shall  all 
pass.     The  prayer  which  he  uttered  that  night, — 

"  Let  thy  bosom  be  my  pillow, 

Hide  me,  O  thou  Rock  of  Ages, 
Safe  in  thee," 

I  believe,  has  been  answered.  His  noble  head 
was  pillowed,  I  believe,  on  the  bosom  of  the 
"  Strong  Son  of  God,"  when  he  fell  asleep  in 
death,  and  that  he  is  safe  in  Him. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  that  he  is  no  longer  among 
us ;  that  we  shall  no  longer  see  his  noble  form, 
nor  hear  his  eloquent  voice,  nor  receive  from  him 
the  gracious  benediction  of  that  radiant  smile, 
which  so  often  played  upon  his  face. 

He  is  gone,  but  the  memory  of  his  great  deeds 
remains.  Never  can  we  forget  him.  Never  can 
we  cease  to  hold  him  in  grateful  remembrance. 
What  he  was,  and  what  he  did,  will  remain  to  us 
forever,  a  joy  and  an  inspiration. 

"  Mourn  for  the  man  of  amplest  influence 
Yet  clearest  of  ambitious  crime, 
Our  greatest,  yet  with  least  pretense. 
Rich  in  saving  common  sense. 
And  as  the  greatest  only  are 
In  his  simplicity  sublime. 
O  good  gray  head  which  all  men  knew, 
O  voice,  from  which  their  omens  all  men  drew, 
O  iron  nerve  to  true  occasion  true, 


LIFE    OF    FREDERICK    DOUGLASS.  3O9 

O  fall'n  at  length  that  tower  of  strength 

Which  stood  foursquare  to  all  the  winds  that  blew." 

To  those  of  us  who  are  members  of  the  race 
with  which  he  was  identified,  let  me  say,  let  us 
keep  his  shining  example  ever  before  us.  Let 
each  one  of  us,  individually  and  personally,  en- 
deavor to  catch  his  noble  spirit,  to  walk  upon  the 
same  lofty  plane  of  a  pure  and  exalted  manhood 
upon  which  he  moved ;  and  together,  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  fact  that  he  is  no  longer  with 
us,  let  us  consecrate  ourselves,  with  whatever 
powers  we  may  possess,  to  the  furtherance  of  the 
great  cause  to  which  he  gave  his  life. 

And  may  I  not  also,  in  his  name,  appeal  to  the 
members  of  the  opposite  race,  especially  to  those 
who  revere  his  memory,  to  join  with  us  in  con- 
tinuing to  fight  for  the  great  principles  for  which 
he  contended,  until  in  all  sections  of  this  fair 
land  there  shall  be  equal  opportunities  for  all, 
irrespective  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition 
of  servitude  ;  until,  to  borrow  the  language  of  an- 
other, "  character,  not  color,  shall  stamp  the  man 
and  woman,"  and  until  black  and  white  shall 
clasp  friendly  hands,  in  the  consciousness  of  the 
fact  that  we  are  all  brethren  and  that  God  is  the 
Father  of  us  all. 


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MUSEUM  OF  AFRICAN  ART 
318-A  STF^^^    ^"■'"THEA.ST 


_J^2:^;^_;^^  HISTORY 
^^6  A  St.,   B  ff  "  ,/  ^°^  Art 


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